Someday Never Comes
by KarmaHope
Summary: "We'll laugh about this someday." They could never be mistaken as lovers, but they had always been more than just friends. Comrades, teammates, classmates, confidantes. He trusted her and she trusted him, and in this way they became the best of friends. A series of one-shots detailing the Traught relationship: their thoughts and feelings and everything we never saw. Canon pairings.
1. Friends

_**It's actually REALLY IMPORTANT you read this bit:**_

Hey, y'all. So, this is just going to be a series of interconnected one-shots of varying lengths detailing the relationship between Robin and Artemis. The timeline is going to be all out of order, because I'm writing them as I get the inspiration, but they're all canonical. They could be placed in order and it would be as if I were actually going through the series. Some will seem to go in order, but then there will be a few that really aren't. I'll try to specify the time periods.

This won't be updated on any set schedule, as this is kind of just a filler as I'm working on other stuff. You may get three updates in a week. You may get one update in three weeks. So … yeah.

This is Canon!Traught, so there isn't going to be any romance between the two, at least not like that. I'm just letting you know ahead of time. I completely support that, I _love_ the Traught pairing, but that isn't this story.

I apologise if I get things wrong. The only familiarity I have with the DC Universe is common pop-culture knowledge and what appeared on Young Justice. And what I've gleaned from my friend.

_**I can try to do AU one-shots if people request them and tell me what to do. I'd like to do some of those every once and a while. Requested AUs can be romantically inclined.**_

Without further ado, I present the first chapter / story.

* * *

**Mount Justice  
August 11, 2011**

"Yeah, Mom. I'm just going to sleep here tonight. They have an extra room and everything."

"Everything went … great. Really well."

"No really, I'm fine. I didn't even get hurt."

"I love you, too. Goodnight, Mom."

Artemis Crock sighed as she hung up. It had been a really long day, and honestly? She didn't know how she felt about it. She hated lying to her mother, but 'great' wasn't exactly how she would have described it.

She tossed the mobile phone to a nearby surface carelessly, just checking to make sure it didn't slide off the other side. Groaning, the young archer sank down onto the bed in the room she had been given for the night. It had been three days since her first mission with the team, and she still wasn't sure what she thought.

Her first day certainly hadn't gone the way she had hoped. She could still feel the animosity the red-haired speedster felt towards her – he hadn't gone through many lengths to hide it. She still heard Speedy- no, Red Arrow's threat resounding in her head whenever she looked at another member of the team.

She still felt the shock of seeing her sister for the first time in years, working for the other side.

"Uhrg," she muttered, burying her face in her hands. When she agreed to all this, she had thought it was a way for her to turn her life around. The way Ollie had spoken, it had sounded like it was a great way to get her foot in the door, to actually start heroing for once. It had sounded like she might actually have friends, maybe even a family for once.

What did she get instead? Animosity, mistrust, and disappointment. She was always on edge, watching herself to make sure she didn't say anything to make things worse. Plus there was the added bonus of living in fear that her sister would bring everything crashing down around her.

She was building a house of cards, she realized, and it wouldn't take much to send them tumbling to the ground.

The blonde flopped back onto the bed and uncovered her eyes, studiously examining the grey ceiling carved into the mountain. She was still dressed in her green hero getup, though her mask had been removed. After the latest mission and debriefing, she had just fled to her room instead of hanging in the rec room with the others. What was really the point, if she was simply going to sit in the corner on the outside, looking in?

Well, lying around here wasn't going to do her much good, that was for certain. She forced herself to stand and cross the room. Changing out of her outfit, she put on a tank top and a comfortable pair of yoga pants she had found in her size in the large communal wardrobe earlier that night. She kept the combat boots.

On her way out of her room, she snagged her bow and quiver from where she had left them. Slinging them onto her back, she switched off the lights and headed out into the hall.

She still didn't know her way around the mountain very well. It was a hollowed out mountain, and thus, quite large. It was only due to a brief tour by the others the day before that she knew even slightly where she was heading. All the same, she walked into many incorrect rooms before she finally found the one she was looking for.

The Mount Justice gymnasium. She felt a grin stretch across her face as she took in the room before her. She had been showed where the room was, but hadn't seen inside it until now. It wasn't like your average high school gymnasium. There were blocks and pads and various gymnastics equipment, along with ropes and nets and a climbing wall up one side of the room. In one section, the blocks had been set up to imitate the roofs of a cityscape. There were several balance beams that could be moved to set up in any configuration. There were uneven bars and parallel bars, and several sets of rings that could be erected.

For a long story made short, it was practically heaven for anyone who felt the need to hone their athletic abilities in any way, shape, or form.

After she had stopped admiring the sheer vastness of the room, Artemis stood before the racks that held various types of equipment. She quickly strapped on a set of elbow- and knee-pads before noting with great delight the padded arrows on the second shelf to the right. She filled her quiver with them, having left her live ones in the room.

The padded arrows would allow her to actually shoot within the gymnasium, yet they wouldn't destroy anything or hurt anyone past bruising them. There were practice trick arrows that were much the same, though slightly more dangerous.

Turning to face the massive space before her, she pulled at the ever-present green hair band. Her long blonde hair fell about her shoulders and waist. Not for the first time, she wondered if she should get it cut now that she was actively in the field more often than not. Grasping the tie in her lips, she moved to gather her hair back into a ponytail.

"You know, you don't look nearly as unforgiving with your hair down," a voice said from beside her.

She dropped her hair, whipping around in a defensive position to face the speaker. The black haired culprit raised his hands, backing away slightly. There was a small smirk on his face. _Robin_. The archer sighed, relaxing her posture.

"Please don't do that," she said, her voice muffled by the hair band still in her mouth. "You just startled the hell out of me. It's generally a bad idea to do that." She quickly set back to putting her hair up again. Within moments, it had been wrapped up into a large bun.

"I'm just saying," the small boy said, "you might have more luck with the others if you weren't so harsh all the time."

Artemis stiffened. "It's really none of your business what I do. What are you even doing here?"

"Would you believe me if I said that I was here to better my physical condition?"

"'Better your physical condition?' Really?"

"Okay, I'll take that as a 'no,'" he continued.

"What are you really doing here, Robin?" Artemis asked him, sighing.

Even from underneath the mask, she knew he was watching her intently. "I saw you pass by the rec room on your way here," he admitted. "I thought maybe you needed the company. I know the past few days haven't been the easiest for you."

"I-" Artemis didn't have anything to say to that. It was true. She could try bluffing, but they'd both know that's all it was. "Yeah."

"Come on," said the Boy Wonder, "this room doesn't get much use from anyone other than me, and I usually train back at the 'Cave."

"You want to-"

"Yeah! Training is always more fun with two, right? Besides," he said with a wide grin, "I hardly ever get to train with a normal human."

The archer was stunned. She had never trained with another person before, at least nobody that wasn't her father or Ollie. The first case was nothing close to what anyone could describe as 'fun.' The second was more business, more 'I need to be able to do this.' She had never thought that training could be _fun_. She also only fully realized just then that Robin didn't have any superpower, either. It sometimes seemed as if he did, with all his gadgets and technical abilities, the way he seemed to disappear and his acrobatic skills.

She found herself saying "Okay."

Robin grinned, and she knew she was in trouble. "It'll be like a giant game of tag, only we'll both be it," he said. "Anything in the room is game, except for the extra supplies on the shelves there. First one to 'kill,' 'capture,' or 'maim' the other ten times wins." Around the words 'kill,' 'capture,' and 'maim' he made little finger quotations in the air. Artemis hid a small smile at his antics.

It seemed simple enough, but within seconds of the game start, she knew she had the disadvantage. She could never score a hit on Robin if she didn't know where he was!

Batman's protégé scored twice on her before she managed to get her head in the game. She dodged two practice birdarangs before somersaulting off the side of a 'building.' As he threw one more at her, she batted it back with astounding precision. As she ducked into a roll as she hit, his slight cry of dismay was the only indication she had hit.

She also suspected he could have dodged that if he had tried.

He got her once more before she finally caught him in a quick hand-to-hand match. A couple dirty tricks and a cry of "that's not fair!" later she had one more point, bringing the grand total to a score of _Artemis: 2 Robin: 3_.

He hit her twice more easily in return for her cheap shots, and she came close to catching him with one of her net arrows. Thankfully it threw him off balance, and she managed to hit him with one of her plain ones.

Both of them were so wrapped up in the challenge, somersaulting over mats and running across beams, utilizing almost every apparatus in the room, that they didn't notice the audience that began to form at the doorway.

That is, until Wally ran in.

A quick rope shot across an 'alleyway' brought him down. As he lay there, he glared up at the blonde-haired girl holding the end. She was panting slightly, and a thin sheen of sweat shone on her skin.

"I got Boy Flash," she yelled out. "Does that count?"

"You wish!" The Boy Wonder sing-songed from wherever he was hiding.

The others standing at the door took this as the okay to enter, and what began as a training exercise between the two human heroes turned into a friendly all-out brawl amongst the entire team. It was every man for himself.

That is, until M'gann telepathically linked herself to Artemis and the two allied themselves against their male counterparts.

Artemis ran across the 'roof,' bow drawn. She leapt across the gap between the mats, landing in a forward roll on the other side. From there she lined up a shot at Kaldur, whom had been locked in mock battle with the youngest of their team. She didn't hit him, but distracted him for long enough that Robin managed to claim a hit.

The archer ran up beside the boy she had begun this game with. "You're welcome," she whispered before knocking his feet out from under him- an impressive feat on the acrobat.

Her victory was short-lived, however, as he brought her down with him. The two tussled for what seemed like ages- in close combat, their skills were nearly matched. Unfortunately turnabout is fair play, and Robin took Artemis down with a few underhanded tricks of his own.

He grinned as he leaned in, merely inches from her face. He burst out in a cheeky grin before telling her, "Ten."

Their game ended only when Red Tornado alerted them to how late it was. By that point, every score had long since been forgotten. Nobody cared. Well, except for Artemis and Robin- their final score ended up _Artemis: 6 Robin: 11_.

For the first time since she had arrived three days ago, Artemis truly felt as if she were part of the team. She was smiling and laughing along with everyone else, teasing each other about stupid mistakes they had made.

After a few minutes, she tapped Robin on the shoulder and they both fell back so they were just behind the group.

"I-" she began, before stopping. She sighed. "Thank you. You know, for everything. For sticking up for me on that first mission. For tonight. For actually giving me a chance." She didn't meet his eyes as she spoke. She couldn't. Saying stuff like this went against everything she had ever learned, and yet she forced herself to do so.

Robin grinned. "Friends?"

Artemis looked up and smiled back at him. "Yeah," she agreed. "Let's do that again sometime. I have a score to settle now."

"You're on."

Just like that, the outlook of being on the team had improved drastically. Suddenly, she was looking forward to working with these people.


	2. Mystery

**Takes place before **_**Chapter 1: Friends**_

This is Canon!Traught, so there isn't going to be any romance between the two, at least not like that. I'm just letting you know ahead of time. I completely support that, I _love_ the Traught pairing, but that isn't this story.

I apologise if I get things wrong. The only familiarity I have with the DC Universe is common pop-culture knowledge and what appeared on Young Justice. And what I've gleaned from my friend.

_**I can try to do AU one-shots if people request them and tell me what to do. I'd like to do some of those every once and a while. Requested AUs can be romantically inclined.**_

Number Two! Thanks for reviewing, those of you that did!

* * *

**Wayne Manor  
August 9, 2011**

_Chirrup chirrup. Chirrup chirrup._

It was a warm late-summer night- warm enough that the window had been left open, allowing the soft sound of the crickets to penetrate the near-silence of the darkened room. The only light was that from the moon and the glow of the bedside alarm clock. The only sound was that of the crickets and the even breathing of one young teenager.

Said teenager had no clue what time it actually was. He was certain it had been hours since he had last looked at the illuminate blue display on the timepiece. It was late- he knew that much. Or was it early? Had midnight passed already? He knew it didn't really matter- whatever time it was, he should've probably been sleeping by now. Any normal kid would have been told to go to sleep hours ago.

Then again, he wasn't really a normal kid. Normal biologically, yes. No special powers like superspeed or strength or anything like that. However, it can be said with quite a large amount of certainty that Richard Grayson – commonly known to friends as Dick and others as 'the Wayne kid' – was not a normal teenager.

A normal teenager would not have just spent the majority of the night trying to defeat an information-hacking, building-destroying swarm of tiny robotic insects called 'the FOG' before it managed to hack into a top-secret vigilante computer system that for some mysterious reason was linked to the mainframe of Wayne Enterprises.

It was the stuff of a normal teenager's nightmares. Surprisingly enough, though, that wasn't what was keeping the young hero awake.

It was the enigmatic blonde-haired green-clad girl that had recently joined up as the sixth member of the team. Or rather, it was the fact he had heard neither hide nor hair of this newest addition to their little squad beforehand. Batman didn't keep secrets from him- that just wasn't how they worked. Yet for some reason, the leader of the Justice League had kept his young protégé in the dark about an event that would have a direct impact on his everyday life.

Artemis. Artemis Artemis Artemisartemisartemis _Artemis._

The black-haired boy groaned softly, rubbing his hands up over his eyes and back through his hair. He stared at the black expanse of the ceiling, a sight that had not changed within the past few hours he had been agonizing over the night's events. When he closed his eyes, he only saw the girl's unique Asian features with her perplexing grey eyes and her –what should have been impossible due to genetics – blonde hair.

He didn't usually do this. Not to this extent. He did have a habit of recapping missions, replaying moments that had gone awry and figuring out what he could have done to avoid the situation. Sometimes after a particularly difficult mission he would be up for hours, causing him to stumble down the stairs the next morning with dark smudges under his eyes. On mornings like that, either Bruce or Alfred would hand him a cup of coffee and send him back upstairs to get some more sleep while they called in to either excuse him from school or say he would be late.

An exhausted hero is a dead hero, after all.

So it wasn't the staying up late that was getting to him. The mission that evening had been fairly routine, despite the fact they had been going up against the League of Shadows. If anything was to be keeping him up, it should have been the fact the Batcave had almost been compromised and their secret identities almost blown sky-high. Strangely enough, he hadn't even thought of that.

It was that girl that was the issue. Green Arrow's 'niece.'

He could still recall it perfectly, even though it had been hours since then. _She's my niece. I'm his niece_. Even someone without tutelage under the world's greatest detective could tell that something was not quite right. It was too … planned.

_Another niece?_ He remembered asking skeptically, nearly laughing as he shot a glance at his mentor-slash-father figure through the lenses of his mask. He seemed to be the only one suspicious, the others all-too-excited to have a new member on the team. Well, at least M'gann was. Connor probably could have cared less, Kaldur was the leader, so he had to accept it, and Wally was busy nursing his wounded male pride.

And yet she had just … integrated herself. _Perfect for extortion, manipulation, power-broking … yeah, sounds like the Shadows._ It was questionable just how familiar she had sounded with the Shadows. When Wally had expressed his doubt of her knowledge, she had just looked at him. Again no one else seemed bothered other than Wally, so he kept his mouth shut as he watched the exchange between the archer and the speedster with amusement. Whatever her actual story was, she was going to stick with the one she and her 'uncle' – and apparently Batman too – had concocted.

Back in the dark of his room, Dick sat up in bed. Finally giving into the temptation, he looked over at the digital clock lying on his bedside. It silently informed him that it was nearing three o'clock in the morning. Knowing he still wasn't going to be getting any sleep any time soon, he quietly swung his legs out of the covers and stood. He crossed the room to the open window and stared out into the night, wondering about what course of action he would take.

After thinking things over, the Boy Wonder knew he couldn't just ask Batman about the girl. If he hadn't told his young protégé, it was likely that even if Dick asked, all he would get was the same 'niece' story. It hurt to know that his mentor was keeping things from him, especially after they had been working together for so long.

No, he would have to go the more subtle approach. He would have to access the Batcave's files sometime when Bruce wasn't around, which was more difficult than it sounded. He couldn't hack into the system from an outside source without the Bat noticing. Even the computers in the public part of the Wayne mansion were considered 'outside' due to the secret identity paranoia.

Tomorrow, he told himself. He would figure this mystery out, no matter how hard his mentor tried to keep him out of the loop.

His resolution made, his thoughts turned back to the source of his troubles. Artemis. Heck- he didn't even know her civilian identity! Part of him told himself that he was a hypocrite- after all, no one except Wally knew his true identity, and he had been part of the team for over a month now- he was one of the founding members. Still, the other, less rational part of him told the other part that that wasn't the point.

Thought processes get muddled sometime after midnight.

_You might cut her some slack- It was her arrow that saved your butt against Amazo._ Honestly, it had only been a conclusion he had drawn from what little evidence he had. There had been an arrow found in the aftermath of their last mission, and then an archer showed up on the team. It was guesswork, yet he had passed it off as certain knowledge. _Yeah, not so much._

That was the one thing that kept getting him over and over again. He had defended her against Wally, who had been his best friend for what seemed like forever. The girl had caused him almost nothing but suspicion all night, he knew nothing about her, and yet he stood up for her against the one person he trusted the most.

How about that for confusing?

Dick sighed heavily, moving to perch on the windowsill. The wind blew softly through the trees outside, and the crickets were still chirping calmly. The only movement was that of the leaves in the early morning breeze. He rested his head against the window frame, sitting precariously but quite comfortably with one knee bent up, foot on the sill with the other leg dangling along the outside wall.

He assumed she could fight well- he hadn't actually seen her in action yet. If her temper was anything to go by, then she would be a fierce fighter as well. Of course, he amended, that could just be Wally. They hadn't exactly gotten off on the right foot, and they both seemed to exacerbate the problem. He wasn't going to let that cloud his judgment- he knew his friend well enough. After a while, they would probably get used to each other and stop bickering so much.

Maybe.

The troubled teen didn't know how long he had been sitting there with his thoughts. His mind had been wandering in circles around the archer for hours already- he had begun to lose his sense of time. It could have been ten minutes to an hour later when he finally swung his leg back over the windowsill to land on the floor of his bedroom. He yawned widely, deciding it was time he actually got some sleep.

He refused to look at his alarm clock- refused to acknowledge just how much time he had spent wondering about his enigmatic new teammate. Lying back down in his bed, he was finally out like a light minutes later.

* * *

Dick woke later that morning to the smell of breakfast coming from downstairs. Despite the fact he's outrageously tired and still confused by his thoughts, the fact he hasn't eaten since before the mission yesterday prevails. He rubbed his hands against his eyes hard, trying his best to hide the sleepiness still residing there. He knew it didn't do much good, but he could pretend.

He practically stumbled down the stairs. Well, 'stumbled' for him, at least, which was more like a normal person's walk. Alfred was waiting for him in the private kitchen/dining room, where he had already set out a plate with pancakes and bacon. Dick sat down and ate gratefully, getting halfway through his food before asking about the absence of Bruce.

"Master Bruce received a call from one of the department managers earlier this morning. He left half an hour before you arose," the butler said. "He told me to inform you that you will be required at Mount Justice this afternoon."

The boy nodded in acknowledgement, hiding the thoughts that were turning in his head. If Bruce was already out, then he would have hours to pore over the Batfiles before he returned. Things couldn't have worked out better!

"Thanks, Alfred," he said upon finishing his meal. "It was great, as usual."

"You are most certainly welcome, Master Richard. Enjoy your day."

Dick smiled at the older man before leaving. He stifled a yawn as he navigated the expanses of the Wayne manor. He could sleep later, he told himself. For the time being, he needed to get down to the Batcave. He needed to figure out who this girl was before it drove him crazy.

As he knew he would be returning to Mount Justice later that day, he changed into his Robin getup once he reached the 'Cave. He considered leaving the mask off – at least for now – but he knew Batman would kill him if he was caught wearing the Robin outfit with his identity exposed. He adhered the mask to his face, albeit reluctantly, and approached the supercomputers Batman kept in their base of operations.

The young hacker plunked himself into the seat in front of the displays, wondering where he would start. He supposed he could just type in 'Artemis,' but then he didn't know if that was even her actual superhero name. Could she have lied to them all? He ended up searching Green Arrow instead. If she was his niece, or even just his protégé, she would be listed in the extensive files.

Or, she should have been. Nowhere under Green Arrow's files did it mention a niece. Neither did it mention him taking on a protégé. Warning flags began to appear in Robin's mind, but he cast them away for the time being. There was no need to jump to hasty conclusions or assumptions just yet. Perhaps the links between the files were just faulty? It was unlikely, though. Batman kept his computers and files in working order at all times. Then again, there _had_ been the close call with the FOG the night before … perhaps that had scrambled things.

Getting a flash of inspiration, Robin quickly pulled up the 'recently viewed' display. At the top of the list was his own search on Green Arrow, but below that … he nearly grinned when he found what he was looking for. Then he looked a little closer.

_Green Arrow – (Oliver Queen)  
Artemis – (Artemis Crock)  
Sportsmaster – (Lawrence Crock) _

The list went on from there, but none of that mattered to the Boy Wonder at the moment. He was hung up on the fact his new teammate shared a last name with one of the villains they had recently encountered.

He didn't much want to, but he forced himself to click on his teammate's file. From there, he started to read. As he went through the information, he found himself getting increasingly angrier with his mentor for hiding such information from him. It certainly explained why it sounded as if she knew so much about the League of Shadows.

It hadn't just sounded like it … she had actually known what she was talking about. With direct familial ties to two active criminals and one retired, she must have grown up on the other side of the tracks her entire life. Robin suddenly felt guilty- it was no wonder she had wanted to keep everything secret. If she had come into the mountain saying she was the daughter of two known criminals, just how accepting would the team have been?

He sank back in the oversized chair, running his hands through his hair. It had been almost two hours since he had begun, and he knew who she was now-Artemis Crock (AKA Artemis), daughter of Lawrence Crock (AKA Sportsmaster) and Paula Crock (AKA Huntress) and sister to Jade Crock (AKA Cheshire). The new information sent his brain spinning once more.

The next thing he knew was the familiar voice of his mentor cutting through his consciousness. He sat up with a start, a lump of dread beginning to crawl its way up into his throat. Crap. He was still sitting in the large black chair. He realized with dismay that he must have fallen asleep after searching the files. His eyes darted up to the other figure in the room.

The large form of Batman-slash-Bruce Wayne stood over him, dressed in uniform but with the cowl pulled back to expose his face. Robin couldn't say he looked angry, but he definitely didn't look particularly happy as he stared at the teen.

"Imagine my surprise," he started, "when I arrived at Mount Justice to get a clearer debriefing of the mission last night only to find that my own protégé was missing."

Robin looked down at his gloved hands. He hated disappointing his adopted father. What had he been thinking, searching files for information his mentor had obviously withheld from him for a reason? All he had succeeded in was getting caught and missing the mission report. He glanced up suddenly when he heard the billionaire sigh.

"I should have known you would be here," the older man said, defeated. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"What?" Robin asked, confused, "I-"

He was cut off when a large hand reached over and peeled the mask from his face, revealing his tired blue eyes.

"Dick," Bruce said gently, pulling up a crate so he could sit across from the teen, "Artemis is not her father."

"Of course she isn't!" the black-haired responded vehemently. "Why would she be?"

A small smile formed itself on the man's face. "I see I didn't have to worry," he said, somewhat to himself.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Dick asked his adoptive father, intrigued by his quiet statement. "You usually tell me everything."

"Dick, while you understand that genetics and heritage are not all that makes a person, there are those that would not be as … understanding … about her situation. They would see her family, and make their decisions about her based on that alone. I didn't tell you because she deserved a chance. A chance she would only have if she were given a clean slate to work from. A chance to reshape her life into something she wanted it to be, not something that was forced upon her."

With that, all his earlier anger and misgivings toward his mentor subsided. He understood. He could see clearly why Batman had done what he had done. It was necessary. If he had been in the same situation, he probably would have done the same thing.

If anything, this taboo subject of her family made the girl all that more interesting. Dick decided then and there it didn't matter. It didn't matter who her parents were. It didn't matter what kind of upbringing she had. She was his teammate, and hopefully his friend. She could have been raised in the swamps of … Timbuktu … or something … and it still wouldn't matter.

Though he was pretty sure there were no swamps in Timbuktu. That must have been the lack of sleep talking again.

He decided to voice this to the older man. "It doesn't matter," he said aloud. He didn't explain his reasoning. He didn't have to.

Bruce reached forward and ruffled the teen's hair despite his protests. "That's my boy," he said proudly, as a real father would to his own son. "I'll have to work harder to hide stuff from you from now on," he added, handing the young hero his mask back.

Dick couldn't help it. He yawned. Despite his unwanted nap in the depths of the Batcave, he was still exhausted from his late night.

"Go back to bed," his guardian told him. "Alfred will wake you when it's time for dinner."

The teen did as was suggested; shedding his hero gear in favor of pajamas once he was back in his room. As he crawled into bed to catch up on some much-needed sleep, his last thought was once again of the blonde.

Why would she use her real name as her superhero identity?

* * *

_So, not really Traught interaction, but it was still needed. I really wanted to explore this aspect after Robin said he knew all along. Also, 1,000+ words longer than the last one._

_I also intend to explore that last question in a future one-shot._

_Your reviews really do mean a lot to me. I just thought I'd let you know._


	3. Failsafe

**Takes place right after the episode **_**Failsafe**_

* * *

This is Canon!Traught, so there isn't going to be any romance between the two, at least not like that. I'm just letting you know ahead of time. I completely support that, I _love_ the Traught pairing, but that isn't this story.

I apologise if I get things wrong. The only familiarity I have with the DC Universe is common pop-culture knowledge and what appeared on Young Justice. And what I've gleaned from my friend.

_**I can try to do AU one-shots if people request them and tell me what to do. I'd like to do some of those every once and a while. Requested AUs can be romantically inclined.**_

Now seems to be a really good time to be getting into the Young Justice fanfiction thing. I timed things just right, didn't I? Anywho, here's chapter/one-shot three.

_**Also I have not seen the last episode yet, so please no spoilers!**_

* * *

**Mount Justice  
October 17, 2011**

Nobody went home the night after the failed training exercise, despite the fact the next morning was a Monday. Batman and J'onn had wanted to keep the teens under observation for a while longer, and if they were being completely honest, anyone on the team would admit they weren't quite comfortable leaving yet. Their parents, for those that had them, were given some excuse they weren't really supposed to believe. Artemis didn't know what the Batman had said, nor did she really care.

She had watched on that evening with an indescribable emotion as her friends tried to recover from the effects of the training exercise. Even though she knew she wasn't at fault, she still felt something like guilt. M'gann had stopped crying by last time she had seen her, but it was obvious to anyone she hadn't yet recovered.

_It wasn't her fault_. She knew that, and kept repeating it to herself. Despite how hard she tried, however, she couldn't keep the doubts that plagued her mind away. A berating voice, in the tone of her father's, kept nagging at the back of her consciousness. She tried desperately to ignore it, but it refused to be silenced.

_Stupid girl,_ it told her, _sacrificing yourself for your 'friends.' Look what good it did you_.

_You've gotten complacent_, it accused her, _never assume anything. You should have seen the one ship was still functional_.

_Did you really think that mere arrows could take down alien ships?_

_All you've done is cause your 'friends' unnecessary strife_.

_Look what you did_.

_You don't belong here_. _You-_

"Yes, I do!" she couldn't stop herself from crying out. She was tired. Sick and tired of doubting herself. Sick of how she mistrusted and disliked herself more than her teammates did. Tired of being a liability. Sick and tired of lying to everyone else- of lying to the only true friends she had ever had.

Her only saving grace was the fact she was the only one around to witness her breakdown. The team might have been staying at the Cave for the night, but that didn't change the fact it was a school night. Everyone was in their own rooms, supposedly getting some sleep. The archer suspected, however, that sleeping was the last thing on anyone's mind.

It was late. Very late. Possibly so late it was early. Artemis had pulled the plug on her alarm clock hours ago, plunging its taunting display of numbers into darkness.

She had tried sleeping- she really had. She did not want to end up falling asleep over her desk the next – later that – morning. She had since adapted to life at the prestigious Gotham Academy, and the classes weren't all that bad. She was learning more there than she would have at Gotham North- that was for sure. The people, she could do without.

She had already learned her lesson about falling asleep in class. After a particularly late night a week or so before, she just couldn't keep her mind on mathematics no matter how hard she tried. The result was a case of pencil-dot chicken pox over the side of her face, courtesy of the annoying dark-haired kid that had been suspiciously willing to sit next to her.

Thus her wish for sleep. Unfortunately, it was just that- a wish. Whenever she felt herself nodding off, she would find herself back in the arctic facing down three alien ships. Her father's voice rang in the back of her mind, screaming at her as he used to in her training. Nothing would change, and the alien's laser shot would bring her back into her dim bedroom, gasping for air.

Enough was enough. She wasn't going to get any sleep this way. As quietly as she could, she swung her legs off the bed and stood. She quickly glanced down at the tank top and pajama pants she was wearing and decided she didn't care. Her hair could also stay down. It was unlikely she would run into anyone else this late.

With an almost catlike grace, Artemis slipped out of her room and tiptoed down the hall. That wasn't to say she wasn't uncomfortable. The archer rarely walked these halls without her quiver and bow or her leather jacket, and never without her hair in its ponytail. Without any of this, she felt unnaturally exposed. She was considering turning back to grab her jacket when a distressed cry attracted her attention.

Artemis stopped where she was, listening carefully before darting a few steps down the hall. She landed on the balls of her feet and kicked up her heels, keeping as quiet as she could. It wasn't long before she could make out what was being said, and it sent chills up her spine.

She checked up and down the hallway before sliding into the room from which she had identified the noise. She closed the door behind her with an almost inaudible click, though she knew it wouldn't wake the person sleeping fitfully. She stood there for a few minutes, back against the wall, wondering what to do.

She watched on frozen as the youngest member of their team tossed and turned, obviously held in the throes of a nightmare. She didn't know how to handle this kind of thing. As a kid, _she_ had always been the one having the nightmares. Either Jade or her mother would wake her from them- her father would leave her be. "Teaches you to deal with your fears," he had said.

The archer had never been the one to wake someone else from their dreams. She had never been the one to comfort another. She shifted from foot to foot, wondering if she should just leave and pretend as if she had never been here.

"Bats, no," the raven-haired hero groaned before suddenly screaming, "WALLY!"

Artemis' decision was quickly made for her.

Before she realized what she was doing, she had crossed the room. She sat down at the edge of Robin's bed, grasping his shoulder with one of her callused hands. She didn't turn the light on, knowing the boy most likely didn't wear his mask or sunglasses as he slept.

She shook him gently at first, whispering his name. When he showed no signs of awakening – only thrashed harder within his sheets – she gripped him harder.

"Robin. Robin, wake up. You're having a nightmare. Robin!" she said, her voice gradually increasing in volume.

The boy shot up with a gasp, nearly knocking his forehead against hers. She jerked back just in time to avoid the collision. Seconds later, she found herself wrapped in a strong embrace.

"Artemis, thank God …" his breath tickled her where he had buried his face into her shoulder.

"Shh, shh. It's alright. I'm here. It was just a dream, remember?" she said soothingly. Artemis returned the hug, sliding her arms around the smaller boy's warm frame. The two were silent for many minutes, grasping one another tightly, reassuring each other with their solid presence.

It was moments like this Artemis realized just how often she forgot her teammate was only thirteen. He always seemed so much older, having been fighting crime for so many years already. It was only when his tough act broke she remembered he was two years younger than she was. She breathed deeply, calming herself as much as him as they rocked back and forth in the dark.

If she felt the wet spot on her shoulder from where he couldn't stop himself from crying, she didn't say anything about it. She understood more than anyone the need to hide weakness- the need to put up a mask and pretend everything was okay. She understood the need to uphold a reputation.

Keeping one arm around her smaller friend, her other hand cast about on the bedside table for the pair of shades she knew would be here. She smiled in triumph as her fingers found them, dragging them closer so that she could grasp them in her hand. She pulled back slightly, handing the sunglasses to the young hero.

"Here, put these on," she told him gently. "I'm going to turn on the light."

Artemis felt him nod and sit back to slide the dark shades onto his face. She leaned over to the table once more to switch on the high-tech lamp that sat there. By the time the light cast a soft glow across the room, Robin's eyes had been hidden once more. He had also taken the opportunity to wipe away any remaining tear tracks.

He looked like the composed Robin she knew, but she knew he was still far from it. She smiled wryly at him, twisting the corners of her mouth up. "Hey," she said, not really knowing where to start.

"Hey."

"You alright?" she asked tentatively.

"Yeah," he murmured, "thank you."

"You're probably wondering what I'm doing in your room at like, two in the morning," she said after an awkward silence, somewhat sheepishly.

"Couldn't sleep?" Robin asked her softly, recovering from the thralls of sleep. She nodded.

"Yeah," she admitted. "I-" her voice caught in her throat. She wasn't used to doing this, the whole 'confiding in people' thing. She swallowed, trying to compose herself.

"It wasn't your fault."

She looked up at her friend in shock. "How- how did you know that was what I was going to say?"

He smirked sadly at her. "I know you," he said, shifting himself into a more comfortable position, "and it was all over your face."

Artemis almost laughed. Almost. "It's just- I know it's not my fault," she said, "but … if I hadn't died, then M'gann wouldn't have become so distraught, and the whole thing wouldn't have fallen to pieces like it did. I should have known better than to take on three ships with only arrows," she confessed, her father's words still ringing in her head. Her thoughts and emotions spilled past her lips. Her father would have been mortified, she couldn't help but think.

"Don't play the blame game," Robin replied bitterly, looking down at his hands against the sheets. "I led my best friends on a suicide mission."

They both fell silent. This was the first Artemis had really heard of what had happened after her 'death.' No one had wanted to talk about it, understandably so. Still, she hadn't liked being kept in the dark. Wally had watched her all afternoon with what could almost be described as a death-glare, except without the 'death.' M'gann had to be gently persuaded to give her time to herself. Kaldur and Connor hadn't been nearly as open with their feelings, but they too had been affected greatly by the ordeal.

As for Robin, he had become much more touchy-feely around her. He would brush the back of her hand with his own or sit close enough to her that he could touch her foot with his just to reassure himself she was _there_. In any other circumstance, Artemis would have been quite irritated with the constant contact, but in light of what happened, she was more than willing to allow it. He was her best friend, after all.

"But you got traught," Artemis told him, eliciting a small smile from their shared joke. "You finished the mission. You did the best you could, and that was more than what anyone could have asked of you."

"I led Wally into a dead end! I practically murdered him!" he protested, still examining the sheets.

"Robin," she said seriously, causing him to look up at her. It was times like this she wished she knew his identity, she mused, so she could talk to him on a deeper level. "Think about it. If things had continued, you all would have died anyway. Did you not hear what Bats said? It was a 'train for failure' exercise. It was either you went down fighting, or you just went down."

"But …"

"You're thirteen, Robin. You don't need to be perfect, despite what people tell you." God knows she knew what that was about. "Nothing is failsafe. Anything can go wrong, in any situation. You know this. I know this. The team knows this. Bats knows this. You did everything you could to adapt to the situation. We know this too. I'm sure Wally doesn't fault you at all for your decisions. Talk to him about it tomorrow."

The Boy Wonder took a deep breath, further calming his breathing. Artemis could see that he had mostly recovered from his nightmare. For the first time that evening, he relaxed. Grinning, he leaned forward to grasp the ends of her free-floating hair. He tugged on it playfully, running his fingers through the strands.

"You look nicer with your hair down," he commented offhandedly, and this time Artemis did actually laugh.

"You've said," she commented dryly. He laughed as well – a short, forced laugh – but a laugh all the same. He dropped her hair and leaned back in his bed, examining the ceiling.

They fell silent again, neither quite knowing what to say. In helping him recover from the fallout of the training exercise, she had pacified her own fears and self-doubts for the time being. Both could see this in the others' expression, and neither of them knew how to address it. They sat there in the dim bedroom, relaxing in the other's presence. They decided words were unnecessary.

"Come on," Robin eventually said, swinging his legs off the side of the bed, avoiding Artemis in the process. "I doubt I could get back to sleep now. I think there's still some ice cream left in the freezer, unless Wally's eaten it all by now."

Artemis snorted. "I wouldn't get your hopes up," she said, standing as well.

"What?" Robin asked after a prolonged silence as the archer gazed at him with an eyebrow raised.

"No Batman pajamas? I'm shocked," she remarked, highly sarcastically. The Boy Wonder simply rolled his eyes at her. "I'm kidding," she said, punching him on the shoulder. He was actually dressed in a blue pajama top and pants.

They exited his bedroom together, wandering slowly down the hall. They were really in no rush- it was late (or early, depending on how one looked at it), and neither of them were looking to get sleep any time soon. The quiet atmosphere of the Cave was relaxing, their footsteps and breathing the only things disturbing the silence.

"You know," Robin finally said nonchalantly, "Wally was fairly distraught at your death. Extremely heavy on the 'dis.'"

It was all Artemis could do to keep herself from freezing up at this bombshell. She forced herself to keep walking, limiting her response to a cool "Oh, really?"

Robin looked as if he was going to say something else, but he closed his mouth as they reached the main living area of the Cave. To their surprise, Artemis and Robin were not the only people there by far. In fact, they were the only two that _hadn't _been there up until that point.

"Oh!" M'gann exclaimed, getting up from where she had been sitting with Connor and Wolf. "Robin! Artemis!"

"What's going on?" Artemis asked, eyeing her teammates. She suddenly felt extremely self-conscious. Perhaps she should have returned for that jacket. She ran her fingers through her hair, wondering if she could get it tied it up without being too obvious about it.

"It seems we have all had the same idea," Kaldur said, standing from where he had been sitting on the couch.

"None of us were able to sleep," M'gann admitted, still looking slightly down but obviously a hundred times better than she had been earlier that evening.

"Thus, giant team sleepover!" Wally exclaimed, zooming up in front of them. "We- uhm, didn't know if you were sleeping … or, you know, not. We didn't want to wake either of you if that was the case," he stumbled over his words, an odd thing for a speedster such as himself.

The archer glanced over at the black-haired boy, who just shot her an infuriating 'I told you so' grin.

She rolled her eyes in return before looking back at the red-haired boy in front of her. "Fine. Just show us where you keep the ice cream," she said, pointing to the bowl the speedster held in his hand, "and all will be forgiven."

It turned out M'gann had run out to the nearest 24-hour convenience store when she realized the majority of the team would be joining her in her sleepless night, so there was plenty to go around, along with plenty of other snacks. To the blonde girl's surprise, Wally had even exercised self-restraint to an extent, consuming only four of the ten quarts of ice cream the martian girl had bought.

She ended up sitting between Robin and Wally on the couch, devouring her ice cream as she laughed along with the rest of her friends, forgetting the emotional stresses of the day. They would be back in the morning, for sure, along with the wraths of their mentors for staying up all night … but none of that mattered for the time being.

It was the most fun she'd had in forever. After a time, she forgot she was only wearing her pajamas and her hair was still down. She forgot about the fact she had school the next day. She forgot she had a weird animosity thing going on with the speedster, and she forgot about her sister and her father and all her other baggage.

It was nice being able to just hang with friends, she thought as she sank back into the couch with her ice cream. Her words from earlier rang in her ears. _Nothing is failsafe. Anything can go wrong, in any situation._ She could hear the truth in her own words, and knew that eventually things would fall to pieces- that was just how her life was. For the time being, however, she got the feeling that nothing _could_ go wrong.

"We should do this more often," she said.

* * *

_I had to do a Failsafe scenario. I just have ideas upon ideas upon ideas for these two characters._

_**Again, please no spoilers for Endgame. I haven't seen it yet. **_

_Reviews are still appreciated._


	4. Beginnings

**Takes place right before 'Homefront'**

This is Canon!Traught, so there isn't going to be any romance between the two, at least not like that. I'm just letting you know ahead of time. I completely support that, I _love_ the Traught pairing, but that isn't this story.

I apologise if I get things wrong. The only familiarity I have with the DC Universe is common pop-culture knowledge and what appeared on Young Justice. And what I've gleaned from my friend.

_**I can try to do AU one-shots if people request them and tell me what to do. I'd like to do some of those every once and a while. Requested AUs can be romantically inclined.**_

I decided to take pity on you. I am currently 3,377 words into a post-Endgame chapter, but I put that on hold to give you a chapter that isn't completely angsty for once. I think all my other chapters for this have been some form of angst … problem is, it lends itself so well to bonding time!

Well, anyway. Have a pre-Homefront fic.

**Gotham Academy  
September 22, 2011**

Dick Grayson shifted anxiously, his weight resting on first one foot before switching to the other. It was his first day of freshman year. One might assume that to be the reason for his agitation, but he had been attending Gotham Academy since the sixth grade. That wasn't what was making him nervous.

Yes, _nervous_. He wasn't afraid to admit it to himself. Dick Grayson, who was the ward and heir of the billionaire Bruce Wayne, who moonlighted as the young superhero Robin … was nervous. Anxious. Somewhat worried. He'd had over a month to prepare for this morning, but it hadn't been until now that the severity of the situation had really hit him. Had this really been his idea?

He forced himself to still. Taking a calming breath, he looked over the crowds of people. He had been both anticipating and dreading this day since his guardian had put everything in motion. Still anxious, he searched for the new – albeit familiar – face he knew would be there.

His fingers fumbled over the device he held in his pocket. Suddenly plagued by doubts, he couldn't help but think of the 'what ifs.' What if she decided at the last minute she wouldn't attend Gotham Academy? What if she recognized him? What if she got pissed at him for the stunt he was about to pull? What if she started going out of her way to avoid him? He didn't think he could handle that sort of rejection – not from her.

Luckily the logical part of his mind took over, rebutting his paranoia. She _would_ be attending. Her mother had confirmed things with the school weeks ago, and Bruce would have told him if there was a change in plans. He ran a hand over his hair that was in in the over-gelled and slicked-back style he hated. It was a necessity in order to look like the stuck-up rich brat he tried to emulate to strangers, and it was unlikely she would recognize him under all the goop. Plus, she had never seen him without a mask or sunglasses on for precisely that reason.

As for the other doubts, he had to scramble a bit more for counterarguments. She couldn't be pissed at someone she had known for maybe five seconds, he reasoned with himself. Plus she wasn't one to hold a first impression against a person … unless you were red-headed and named Wally West. Which, of course, the black-haired Dick Grayson was neither.

In his internal debate with himself, he almost missed her. A large flash of yellow caught his eye, wrenching him out of his thoughts. He only knew one person with that much blonde hair, and she was the one he had been looking out for since he had arrived at the school. He couldn't see her face from where he was standing, but he knew it so well he could picture it in his mind.

Dick tore his eyes away from her back to scan the surrounding area. Finding the best place from where to initiate his planned stunt, he casually made his way across the grounds. He passed some of his classmates, feigning nonchalance. In reality, that was the furthest from the truth. He couldn't have felt more chalant if he tried. He was surprised no one called him on it.

He had a better view of her from here. He smiled to himself as she attempted to look around discreetly. It was obvious she wasn't entirely comfortable with her surroundings. His breath caught in his throat as she turned toward him, her exotic grey eyes taking in the scene before her. He could have sworn she looked directly at him, but it must have been a mix of nerves, paranoia, and maybe a touch of wishful thinking, as her gaze moved on with no signs of recognition on her face.

She's tugging the regulation uniform skirt uncomfortably when an upperclassman greets her. Dick knew who the new girl was – Bette Kane, who would act as 'student liaison.' Bruce had informed him of this, albeit just yesterday.

He decided now was as good a time as any. He was quickly running out of time, and she was distracted. She wouldn't see him approach, and hopefully she wouldn't see him disappear, either. He took a deep breath and pulled the camera phone out of his pocket, switching it on.

It was time to commemorate this moment forever. It was too ironic _not_ to. He couldn't just pass up the opportunity. The black-haired teenager started forward, unable to keep the smile off his face.

Artemis wouldn't know what hit her.

**Wayne Manor**

**August 15, 2011**

"I want to do something for her."

The words broke the comfortable silence that had fallen over the Batcave. It had been a quiet night in Gotham, a rare occurrence in the crime capital of the United States. With no desperate calls from the Gotham Police Department, the vigilante and his protégé had taken the night to organize and update the files in the Batcave's central computer.

The two had settled in a rhythm, and had been comfortably working in silence for almost two hours. There had been the occasional question of whether to input certain information into this file or the other, the occasional 'can we link this person to this one,' and the question of whether to reclassify this person or not. Photos and information and IDs flashed across the screens, settling in one file or another before either the Bat or the Bird moved on.

Alfred had checked up on them every half-hour or so, occasionally toting refreshments of some sort. The Dynamic Duo had thanked him profusely, but was loath to tear their attention away from the task at hand. It might be weeks – possibly months – before they had the chance to do a thorough update of their files again. It was important for them to get as much work done now as possible.

Thus, when Dick spoke up suddenly, it had actually startled the both of them. Bruce turned in his chair to face the teenager, and was unsurprised to see his protégé looking at the open file of one Artemis Crock. In the past week alone, he had noticed his ward opening up to the archer. She was often talked about in the Wayne household; Dick enjoyed telling stories about whatever altercation she and his best friend had gotten in most recently.

Said teenager was currently holding his breath, waiting for his mentor to say something … anything. He had actually been thinking along these lines ever since he had uncovered her true heritage. He had just been waiting for the right time to tell Bruce, and now seemed as good a time as any. The answer was going to be the same whenever he chose to ask, so he really just needed to get it over with.

"I mean," he continued when his father-figure didn't say anything, "she hasn't had the easiest childhood. She lives with her paraplegic mother in what we know to be the worst part of Gotham. She pretends everything is fine, but it's easy to tell she and her mom are struggling to make ends meet. Not to mention she's constantly in fear of her father and sister ruining everything for her …" He was babbling. He didn't usually babble. Not in front of Bruce.

"And what do you suggest we do?" the billionaire asked coolly, cutting Robin off.

For a second, the young hero couldn't believe his mentor was so open to the idea. Then he realized Batman, along with Green Arrow, had a vested interest in the girl. They were taking a risk with her, and as the only two of the Justice League that knew of her history, both felt obligated to her well-being. He took a deep breath before turning to face the man with the cowl pulled back.

"There isn't much we can do," he admitted, "not without either letting her know who _we _are, letting her know I know who _she_ is, or making her feel like a charity case. She'd hate that," he added, referring to the 'charity case' point. "In fact, she'd probably throw the offer back in our faces and never talk to me again …"

The Batman had to hide a small smile at Robin's muttered statement. "Good point," he said instead, "all of them. So," he repeated, "what do you suggest we do?"

"Gotham Academy has that scholarship program," he offered tentatively. "Gotham North, well … it's a horrible school." He had been there before, posing undercover in order to keep watch on one of the staff members whom he and Bats had identified as one of the culprits in a scheme they were trying to bust. The halls were dingy, and the people weren't much better. The teachers were either shady or held contempt for the kids who had grown up poor and underprivileged. As for the students, there were the bullies and those who belonged to the gangs, the kids who had retreated into themselves under the harsh life of the Gotham slums, and the kids sort of in the middle – the kids that weren't strong enough to join the bullies or gangs, but whose intelligence and cunningness kept them off the bottom. Imagining Artemis in such a place … it was hard.

Bruce considered his young protégé. There was a look of determination on the boy's face, as well as a glimmer of hopefulness in his eyes. He sighed internally, knowing the Batfiles would just have to wait.

"It's too dangerous," he said seriously. "You would need to stay away from her if you were to keep your identity hidden. If she knew you in school, she would learn the words and actions of Dick Grayson as well as of Robin. It wouldn't take much for her to match the two."

"I'd be really careful," Dick insisted. It was a feeble argument at best, and he knew that.

"It would be too easy for you to slip up. You can't watch yourself all the time." It was the reply the Boy Wonder knew was coming.

"Then I'd stay away from her altogether! She won't even _see_ me."

"Can you really promise that?" the older man asked skeptically.

Dick sighed, looking down at the grating that covered the floor of the Batcave. "No," he said, "I can't."

The billionaire looked upon his ward's deflated form, seriously contemplating the implications of the blonde girl going to the same school as Robin. In all honesty, he didn't know what to think. For the first time, he was actually weighing the pros and cons of someone figuring out his protégé's identity.

He was thrilled Dick had made friends with the girl so quickly, and that he wanted to help her – it was obvious he had already helped her tremendously in settling in to her new lifestyle. Besides, what father doesn't like seeing his son make new friends? But there was also the other aspect he had to take into consideration. No one knew of their identities – save for Wally – and he wanted to keep it that way. Artemis was an intelligent girl. Given enough time, she would put two and two together.

Though given her past and her own situation, it was likely she would be more respectful than most for the secrets others kept. Of course, if she did figure it out, it would be more dangerous in her hands than most. If the Shadows were to get their hands on her …

"Do you trust her?" he asked finally, after a long period of silence.

Dick looked up, positively startled. What was going through his mentor's mind? "Of course," he said immediately without hesitation.

"Despite her family, and the fact it constantly places _you_ all in danger? Despite the fact her father is probably going to try taking her back at some point?"

"I'd like to see him try," Robin practically growled before he realized himself. "I mean … yes. Perhaps even moreso. It's obvious she's fighting so hard to _not_ be her family. Why?"

The Batman sighed loudly. "I should probably make things clear, both to you and myself. The way I see it, that entire team of yours is eventually going to learn who you are. I don't see you losing contact with them, and it's going to be impossible to hide who you are for your entire life."

"Bruce?" Dick asked questioningly. What was he saying? Whenever identities had been discussed, it had always been 'no one can know.' He had practically flipped off the wall when he learned Dick had told Wally back when they were younger. This was so totally different from any lecture he had ever gotten from his mentor. He found himself hanging onto every word.

"Nonetheless," the older man continued, "the more people who know who you are, the more danger you're in. They're not called the 'bad guys' for nothing. They will torture people for information, and just how long can anyone stand up to that?"

The teen understood what his guardian was saying. The more of his friends who knew who he was, the more likely the people who wanted him dead would get the information. They would go through his friends to try to get to him in order to get to the Batman. As younger heroes, despite how confident they were in themselves, they were more susceptible. It would be easier to capture them, easier to break them with torture. Compared to the Justice League, the teens were like sitting ducks.

That still didn't tell him whether or not Bruce was accepting his idea or not. "Soo …" he asked, hoping for an answer. Usually he would never do such thing, knowing the Batman would speak in his own time. He didn't know what was making him act so differently this time.

"I will consider it," Bruce said. Dick was about to thank him, but he was stopped when the man held up his index finger. "There are a few conditions," he was warned. "One – If she does figure it out, it will be because she put the clues together. Not because you couldn't control your crush and told her."

Dick nearly squawked at the accusation, but the Batman continued as if he didn't see his protégé turning bright red.

"Two – until the point where she knows who you are, you are not to interact with her at school as anything other than an acquaintance. If she learns who you are, then you can begin acting as friends at school." Actually, he wasn't too sure about that one. It was possible someone would see the distinct similarities between the duo of the blonde Artemis Crock and black-haired Dick Grayson and the blonde hero Artemis and the black-haired hero Robin. It was something they were going to need to discuss at a later date.

"Three – if she does figure it out, it's your responsibility that she doesn't tell anyone else. If she's captured, you need to get her back before anyone gets her to talk. Realize if she does tell anyone, it's your fault." He waited until Dick nodded before moving on to his final condition.

**Gotham Academy  
September 22, 2011**

_Four – don't let her figure it out._

His mentor's words rang in his head as he sidled up to his friend. He overheard part of her conversation with Bette – it was painfully obvious she was out of her comfort zone. Grinning, he slung his arm around her shoulder, startling her. He raised the camera phone in front of them, making sure it was steady. He only had one shot at this – he didn't want to screw it up.

"We'll laugh about this someday," he told her offhandedly as he pressed the button. The device flashed and she blinked, giving him enough time to disappear back into the crowd. Still, he hung around in the background long enough to hear what was said afterward.

"Uh … who was that?" she asked Bette. She sounded so confused, and Dick allowed a grin to spread across his face – not that it had disappeared in the first place.

"A freshman," Bette replied disdainfully, "ignore him."

As they walked off, Dick allowed himself to breathe once more. He had actually pulled that off better than he thought he would. Of course, he wasn't going to be telling Bats about the incident for a long time to come, if ever. If the Dark Knight learned he had risked his identity at the first chance he had, especially after he had been specifically told not to, there would be hell to pay. Especially for something so trivial as a picture.

"Dick?" A high-pitched voice reached his ears as he wandered back toward the building, "What was that about?"

He looked up to see Barbara Gordon standing against one of the columns, her arms crossed. Apparently she had seen the entire encounter, and was rather curious as to what he had been doing. He slid the phone into his pocket, hiding the evidence.

"Nothing, Barbara," he laughed as he walked up beside her. She glared at the two blondes walking away from them, and his gaze landed on them as well. "Just being friendly to the new girl."

The redhead huffed away – he was going to need to talk to her later. As he followed her, he retrieved the phone from his pocket and turned it on. It beeped a couple times before he was looking down at the picture he had just taken.

It was almost adorable how awkward Artemis looked in the school uniform. She gazed at him from the picture with a vacant look on her face – she really hadn't known what was going on. Dick knew then that this was a picture he would hold onto for years. As he smiled down at the image, something struck him.

Perhaps Bruce had been right. Perhaps he was holding a crush on her … just a little bit.

_Please note that this is still a Canon!Traught fic. It's not going to turn into some angsty one-sided love thing either. I think it is fully plausible and probable that he has at least some form of a crush on her, especially in the early days. Possibly even years later as well. It's not going to play a giant part into these stories. It'll be mentioned, yeah, but it's not a plot thing I'll rely heavily on._

_Prepare for angst with the next update. Approximately 5,000 words of it, at least._


	5. Salvation

**Takes place right after **_**Endgame.**_

* * *

**MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ****ENDGAME****  
MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ****ENDGAME****!  
**_**MAJOR! MAJOR! SPOILERS AHEAD FOR **__**ENDGAME**__**!**_

* * *

This is Canon!Traught, so there isn't going to be any romance between the two, at least not like that. I'm just letting you know ahead of time. I completely support that, I _love_ the Traught pairing, but that isn't this story.

I apologise if I get things wrong. The only familiarity I have with the DC Universe is common pop-culture knowledge and what appeared on Young Justice. And what I've gleaned from my friend.

_**I can try to do AU one-shots if people request them and tell me what to do. I'd like to do some of those every once and a while. Requested AUs can be romantically inclined.**_

* * *

It's too soon. It's too soon for this. I watched Endgame and bawled my eyes out. However, I got a request to do this, and thus I shall. Please excuse any details that are off slightly … I'm not rewatching the episode to get events right. Nope. Never again. My memory will have to do.

Also, I'm a bit tentative at the prospect of whatever I write outside of the known canon. Whatever I write will become canon for this story, and I will have to stick with that unless I write AU shots. So… please don't get mad at me for writing past canon.

**Dear God. If you want to skip this chapter, you can. 7,500+ words of angst await you if you continue … but I actually really, really like this … This is the longest chapter I've ever written. Even I didn't expect this when I started writing.**

* * *

**The Watchtower  
June 20, 2016**

Artemis didn't know where she had found the strength to stand with the rest of the team in the Watchtower. She didn't deserve to be there. She wasn't even the same person anymore. She shifted uncomfortably in the uniform she had come to be more familiar with than her usual green. More than ever, her Tigress getup felt like just that – a getup. A mask. She was more uncomfortable standing with her new teammates and old friends wearing the orange and black than she had been standing among enemies wearing the same colors.

She didn't even want to be there. All she wanted was to go home, curl up into a ball and cry until she ran out of tears. In all her years of fighting crime, in her years of dealing with her dysfunctional family, in dealing with the fallout of more than one situation gone wrong, she had never felt as terrible as she did in that moment. It felt _wrong_.

It felt _wrong_ standing in uniform without her red-haired speedster standing beside her cracking jokes. This was the first time he hadn't been there_ somewhere_ within the vicinity since she joined the team five years ago.

At least she would never again have to save the Kid Flash's butt from some goon or another, only to receive some sort of complaint in return. She would never again have to tell her boyfriend to quit attempting to flirt with her over the commlink or M'gann's telepathic connection. She would never again have to deal with him dashing up to plant one on her before running off again to punch the lights out of some bad guy.

Never again.

And God, did it hurt.

Artemis forced herself to keep her eyes locked forward. Every time she caught a glimpse of the all-too-familiar yellow and red of the Kid Flash uniform, her heart would leap. With her peripheral vision, she could almost fool herself into believing that it was _him_ right there. Sometimes she _did_ fool herself. That was, of course, before the reality crashed down upon her once more. It wasn't Wally standing there. Never again would it be. It was only Bart – formerly Impulse – the kid from the future who had taken up Kid Flash's mantle.

She hated herself for thinking it was 'only' Bart, but she couldn't bring herself to care. _It wasn't Wally_.

In keeping her eyes forward, it meant she was the only one that wasn't paying close attention to what Kaldur was saying. Her eyes ghosted over the back of the large room, particularly toward the entrances. She didn't know what she was thinking. Was she hoping her boyfriend would come strolling in – or perhaps zooming in – as he usually did, to place his arm around her shoulders, as he usually did, and casually ask if they had missed him, as he usually did?

Because he wasn't, and she needed to get that in her head. _Now_.

It was during her distant, falsely hopeful examination of the room in which she noticed Dick standing in the back corner near the zeta tubes. He was wearing his Nightwing outfit, but even with the mask on Artemis could see the pain and melancholy in his gaze. She'd had five years to memorize his expressions and nuances with and without the mask. Her heart lurched when she met his eyes. He wasn't joining them.

The dark-haired young man broke eye contact with her, and she saw him mutter something to himself. What remained of her heart went out to him- he looked just as affected by the ordeal as she felt. His black uniform only emphasized the somber image. She knew Wally's de- his not being there had hit Dick the hardest, despite the fact he hadn't outwardly shown it as much as she had. She knew the two of them had been best friends since forever ago- Wally was the first one who had known of his secret identity. They had founded the team together … she had just been an addition.

As Nightwing left, Artemis bit her bottom lip – hard. If she hadn't felt like crying before, she certainly felt like it now. She could feel the anxiety well up in her throat, and she knew she had to get out of there. Who was she fooling? She couldn't do this right now. Not so soon after … she sighed audibly, attracting the attentions of the young heroes nearest her.

Her soft outburst had caught Kaldur's notice as well. It was no use pretending anymore. She met his eyes, silently asking permission to escape. Her mask suddenly gripped her face stiflingly and she took deep breaths, doing her best not to lose it in front of her junior team members. The dark-skinned Atlantean, upon seeing her condition, acknowledged her request with a nod. She smiled shakily at her longtime friend and leader, then at those around her whom had expressed their concern.

_Are you okay? _She heard M'gann ask her as she formed a private mental channel between the two of them.

_No,_ she admitted, deciding to be straight with her 'Earth-sister,' _No, I'm not. I will be … eventually. I just need some time to myself. Please._

_If you need anything, just ask me_, the Martian offered gently. _I'm here for you. We all are._

_Thank you,_ Artemis replied gratefully, _but I'll be alright. _

_Just keep it in mind_.

_I will_.

She exited the room in a brusque walk, ignoring sympathetic looks from the team. She didn't need pity. It would do nothing to fix the problem. It wouldn't fix her heart. It wouldn't fix Dick's spirit. Nor would it do anything to help anyone else, either. _It wouldn't bring Wally back._

The raven-haired hero was gone by the time she managed to escape. She suspected he had zetaed back to Blüdhaven, probably with the same intentions that were driving her – to spend some time alone.

Coming up to the zeta tubes, she removed the suffocating feline mask from her face. She had no clue why she had chosen to take up the Tigress moniker again. She gazed at the mask in her hands – the mask that had become the bane of her existence for months of her life. Months of her life she could have been living with Wally. Months of her life she would never get back.

Never. Never never _never_.

She was beginning to hate that word. She hated how quickly 'forever' could turn to 'not ever' within a span of a few short minutes. She hated how changing only three letters could change the meaning of a word completely. A stupid prefix. Not even Dick could twist this one around.

Programming the tube for Palo Alto, California, Artemis took a deep breath. The mask had been secured to her belt, its taunting orange and black now out of sight. The mask was a representation of everything she had lost, of her 'Wonderland' vanishing into thin air.

Just like the Cheshire Cat.

As she was zapped to California, she rolled her eyes halfheartedly at her Alice in Wonderland reference. There were some things she just hadn't grown out of over the years. Considering how much of her childhood had centered on the story, the Wonderland references were one of the things which had stayed.

Wally often poked fun at her for it. _Had_ often poked fun at her for it.

The past tense was something that was going to be hard to get used to, she thought, suppressing the tears.

* * *

**Palo Alto**

As she stepped out into the alleyway, she was hit with the familiar California night air. By all accounts, it should have been a relaxing evening. The stars were out, the temperature was neither too hot nor too cold, and a soft breeze ruffled the palm trees. It would be a perfect night to drive out to the beach and relax with friends or a loved one.

Artemis, however, nearly choked upon breathing in. The humidity, barely noticeable to others, felt cloyingly uncomfortable. She couldn't help but remember how she and Wally would tease each other as their hair frizzed in the atmospheric moisture until it eventually became a game to see whose was worse. She had always won with that one – she had more hair to frizz. Now, however, it enveloped her with what felt like a wet blanket. She couldn't have cared less about the state of her hair.

She wandered lost among the alleys, taking the path to their – her – apartment. The route had become second nature to the both of them over the years. Her legs guided her almost unconsciously as her head was sojourned in the clouds. If anything, it felt worse being back in California than it did being on the Watchtower. To her, California _was_ Wally West; its sunny yellows and vibrant reds and greens were just _him_. The perpetual summery atmosphere reminded her so much of his laughter and bright devil-may-care attitude – the rush and the bustle of everyday life, his knack of being everywhere at once.

And now, he was nowhere.

Artemis came to the familiar stucco of her apartment building, and her legs took her around the side to where she and Wally had hidden a stash of sweatshirts and track pants in the case of an occasion where they couldn't change out of uniform before they got home. Sure, they had 'retired' from heroing upon their move to California, but it was a loose term. There would be the rare time here or there where they would suit up for old times' sake, or if they were bored to death and had nothing else to do.

After all, there was nothing like spending a romantic night together out fighting crime.

In her zombielike state, it was a surprise she was coordinated enough to slide the pants and sweatshirt on. She zipped the hoodie up tight to hide any traces of her outfit underneath. It was only after she had done so she realized the top she had put on was Wally's. Before she could stop herself, she wrapped her arms tightly around herself and snuggled into the warmth of the men's sweatshirt. Despite the fact it wasn't one of the ones he had worn often, it was still just so … _him_. For a moment, she could pretend they were his arms wrapped around her and not her own.

She took a deep breath, steadying herself through the wetness forming in her eyes once more. She needed to get inside and then she could cry for all she was worth. She snatched up the remaining clothing- her top and his pants. Clutching both in her arms, she made her way around to the front of the apartment complex.

If people had given her odd looks, she hadn't noticed. Nor did she care. She didn't notice much as she climbed the stairs to the correct floor and unlocked the door to their – her – rooms.

As she opened the door and turned on the lights, it was like getting hit in the face. He was suddenly just _there_. His socks were still where he had left them after taking them off upon his return from school the other day. There was even an open potato chip bag left on the coffee table. Artemis realized she was standing like an idiot in the doorway as she stared. Taking a deep breath, she stepped inside and closed the door behind her.

Nelson came padding out of their – her – bedroom, tail wagging as he looked up at her. He was obviously excited his mistress had come home. She attempted a smile but gave up, squatting down to pet his head sadly. Within seconds, his tail stilled. He could tell something was not right with his smaller human.

"Hey, boy," she rasped, her voice rougher than usual from her sobs earlier that night and her disuse of it since then. "I-" A small lump lodged itself in her throat, making it near impossible to speak. "He's not coming back," she finally said, admitting it aloud to herself for the first time that night.

"He saved the world," she told his – their – her – dog, "He saved the world, and I lost him. I _lost_ him."

Nelson whined and pressed himself closer to his mistress. He didn't know exactly what was wrong, but he knew she was upset. Artemis sank to her knees on the hard wooden floor, finally letting go of the self-control she had gripped like a lifeline throughout the night. Her tears spilled over her large grey eyes and landed between her knees in little droplets, some of which splashed onto the little dog's head.

Large spasms wracked their way through her body as she sobbed. She gasped for air as a drowning person might. For all intents and purposes, she _was_ drowning – drowning in catastrophic events and loss and tears. The sounds of her cries resonated throughout the quiet atmosphere of the apartment. Only the humming of the refrigerator and the soft buzzing of the lights offered accompaniment, leaving her feeling desolate and alone.

It was a sad sight. Artemis was at the lowest she had ever been. She still wore her Tigress costume beneath the sweats, playing dress-up for a cause which would never be as fulfilling as it once had been. The grey sweatpants and oversized red hoodie engulfed her lithe form. If someone were to see her now, the first word that would come to mind would be 'fragile.' It was a word one would never usually associate with the girl.

She lost all sense of time. It could have been minutes or days later when she finally pushed herself off the floor and stumbled toward their – her – bedroom. Her vision was blinded by the salt water still streaming down her face as she felt her way along the wall to the once-welcoming bedroom. Now the doorway loomed before her, just another reminder of what she had lost.

She didn't turn on the light. She didn't want to see. In the dark, she stumbled out of the confining black and orange suit and into a pair of her boyfriend's old pajamas. It was just light enough she could make out the beach umbrella pattern on them. Bolts of pain shot through her anew. She recognized the pattern as the pair she had gotten him for his birthday just the year before. The _look_ on his _face_ when he laughed outright at their oldest joke … she would never see that again.

Artemis snagged the hoodie she had dropped to the floor in undressing and slid it on again over the pajamas. She zipped it up as high as it went and climbed into their – her – bed. Her heart clenched when she saw his side was still messy from where he hadn't made it last. God, was it only that morning she had woken to see his smiling face and his effervescent green eyes?

She didn't slide under the covers. She didn't want to disturb anything there that was left of him. Instead she curled into the fetal position, burrowing deeply into his sweatshirt and pajamas. Inhaling his scent with each breath she took, she cried herself to sleep.

Upon waking the next morning, she was convinced it had all been but a bad dream. As she came further into consciousness however, she became all-too-aware of her crusted and swollen eyes. The fact she wasn't snuggled up against a warm body and that the space next to her was devoid of any body heat pounded the message home.

He's just out in the kitchen, she tried telling herself, but she wasn't the type of person to delude herself for long. Everything came crashing back into her memory, and she took a deep gasping breath. He was gone. Wally was well and truly … gone.

She pushed herself from the bed. It really wasn't comfortable anymore. Walking to her dresser slowly, she pulled out the most comfortable pair of jeans and the softest tee shirt she owned. Today was a day to dress for comfort, not fashion. Grabbing the other necessary clothing, she stumbled into the bathroom and into a scalding hot shower. It felt so good to just stand there under the scorching water – to be able to concentrate on something other than her grief.

There. Grief. She admitted it.

Artemis stayed in the shower until the water began to turn cold, at which point she forced herself to move back into the real world. It wouldn't do her any good to catch pneumonia as well. Though if she died, she supposed, she could be with him again.

But no. That wasn't what he would have wanted. He would have wanted her to stay strong, not to fall apart. And so she would. For him.

She dressed hastily. Even the safe haven of the bathroom was quickly becoming just another painful reminder of events. On any other day, Wally would be banging down the door by this point, asking if she was okay. She would always say yes. Yes she was, don't worry.

_No. No I'm not. Please, help._

But there was no one there to answer her silent plea.

She made a halfhearted attempt at drying and brushing her hair. Whether she did a decent job or not, she didn't know. Nor did she care. Considering wrapping it up in a bun, she decided to leave it down. She didn't feel like using a hairdryer. Even in her current state, she had enough sense to know it would end badly if she tried.

Shuffling back out into the hall, she wondered where she would go from here. She couldn't stay. Not in this apartment, with all its memories. She couldn't imagine sleeping in their – her – _that_ – bed every night without him. She couldn't spend the rest of her days drifting around the rooms like a wraith whenever she wasn't in class or out risking her life on some mission or another. She doubted she could concentrate in class, anyway.

She needed to get out.

Before she knew what she was doing, was in the kitchen with the cordless telephone in her hands. She sank down against a nearby wall until she was sitting on the floor, the communication device clenched in a white-knuckled grip. She stared at its keypad, debating whether to dial or not.

Eventually her fingers moved, pressing a series of numbers that had become so familiar to her over the years. She held the phone to her ear, listening to the rings on the other side. For a few agonizing moments, she was certain no one was going to pick up. Just as she was about to hang up, there was a soft click as the call was taken.

"Artemis," the dulcet voice of her closest friend greeted her. Within seconds, she found herself inexplicably close to tears once more. She breathed deeply, trying to keep her voice level.

"Dick," she returned breathily, "Oh, God. Help me. _Please_."

* * *

**Blüdhaven  
June 21, 2016**

He hadn't slept.

He couldn't. Whenever he closed his eyes, all he could see was his best friend vanishing before his eyes. Wally West, the person whom had been beside him for years. Wally West, whom he had trusted with his life.

Wally West, whom he had practically sent to his death.

For the second time.

Dick couldn't actually remember the last time he had slept. Might he have possibly gotten a couple hours in the night before last, before the shit started hitting the fan? Maybe. He was sucking fumes; the lack of energy was causing his memory to go fuzzy. In any case, he hadn't gotten a decent night's sleep in months – not since the first invasion of Metropolis back in … December. It had only gotten worse when he had sent his best girlfriend to join his former leader deep into enemy territory. And now Wally was gone, he knew it wasn't going to get any better.

Having stripped of his Nightwing uniform hours before, he was dressed in only a pair of grey sweatpants and a black tank top. His mask had been discarded along with the uniform, and was now lying somewhere on the bedroom floor amongst a pile of black leather, Kevlar, and spandex. The hero had foregone a shower, but had scrubbed at his face in an effort to hide the evidence of withheld tears. He had not yet cried for the speedster, though he had come close multiple times. Throughout the night, he kept telling himself he needed to be the strong one – he needed to keep up images as the strong leader, despite the fact Kaldur had since taken back control of the team. Nightwing, like Batman before him, didn't show emotion to others.

He had very nearly lost his firm control when he met eyes with Artemis – _Tigress_ – back on the Watchtower. Seeing the open despair on her face contradicting the strong stance she'd held had almost pushed him over the edge. Artemis was one of the strongest people he knew – she didn't _do_ weakness. She had been raised against it since childhood. Years before, she had told him weakness just brought more pain, a lesson that had often been drilled into her by her own father. To see her resolution collapse now … it was heartbreaking.

And it was his fault. _All. His. Fault._

He had been leader of the team for the majority of the invasion. He had called the shots. He should have seen what was coming. He should have been more aware. He should have been a step ahead of their opponent. He should have, he should have, he should have.

But 'should have, would have could have's weren't going to help him now. Even Doctor Fate couldn't work his magic and bring his redheaded teammate back, so 'what if' scenarios were going to be even less of a help. They would succeed in nothing but depressing the raven-haired teenager even further.

Dear God, he was only nineteen! He shouldn't even have to be dealing with this stuff! He should be worrying about college and GPAs and parties, not fending off an alien invasion and risking two friends' lives and dealing with the death of another.

He didn't voice it often, but he had been jealous of the semi-normal life his two best friends had been living in California. They _had_ been worrying about GPAs and parties … until he had pulled them away and dashed their lives to pieces.

It was his fault. _He_ was to blame for the tragedy that had befallen them. He wouldn't blame _her_ if she didn't want anything to do with him after tonight – last night? – yesterday? – he was rapidly losing track of time. Still, it didn't matter. He had, indirectly, killed her boyfriend.

For years, the hero had strongly believed his two friends were going to get married. He had been harassing Wally about it for what seemed like forever … and now he was the only one who knew for certain the redhead had been planning on popping the question sometime in the not-so-distant future. It was something he could never tell Artemis – it would only serve to throw the Incident into her face even further than it already had been.

Dick sat at his kitchen counter, perched on one of the wooden stools he kept there. He nursed a cup of … something … between his hands. He couldn't even remember what it was anymore. His sunglasses rested nearby as they always did, though he doubted he would need them any time soon. His laptop lay discarded to one side, closed and unused. He wanted nothing to do with his Nightwing persona, and that included the copious amounts of technology he kept stashed in his dingy apartment. Besides, he knew as soon as he logged on he would be inundated with messages asking the same questions.

_Are you okay?  
Is there anything I can do?  
What happened?  
When are you coming back?_

… Not to mention all the 'I'm sorry's and the condolences and the platitudes he knew would be there. He could throw his own pity parties, thank you very much. He didn't need help from anyone else.

He stared at the dull wood of the countertop, taking a sip from whatever it was he had in front of him. It was times like these he loathed being underage and a figure of two rather high-class societies. If he were neither, he would definitely be drinking something stronger than what he had found to be room-temperature orange juice. It would be a temporary solution, yes, but right now he just wanted to _forget_.

When he was younger, he had seen the world of heroing through a pair of rose-colored glasses – or rather more appropriately, a rose-colored mask. By no means had he been delusional – he had known being a hero wasn't all glory – but back then it had been _fun_. He had made fantastic friends, and they went on all sorts of missions together busting crime and baddies. They had played, they had joked, and at the end of most days, they could pretend they were normal teenagers hanging out in a secret clubhouse.

Now? It wasn't fun. It was _work_. It was horrid work that left scars and twisted those involved into people they didn't like.

So lost was he in his thoughts that he almost didn't hear the ringing of the telephone. It was quite a few seconds before he registered the electronic trill. Grimacing at a long swig of lukewarm orange juice, he ignored it. He didn't want to talk to anyone, and he was certain there was no one who would actually want to talk to him at the moment, either. Still, the incessant noise was beginning to get on his nerves – all he wanted was to wallow there in silence.

Dick pushed himself off the stool with a huff, abandoning the juice. He approached the noisemaker fully intent on disconnecting it to plunge the apartment into silence once more. That is, until the caller ID caught his eye. He recognized the number – _God_, did he recognize the number – and a stab of both pain and shock shot its way through his body. His hand hovered over the receiver as he hesitated. Should he take it?

Yes, he should, he decided. He owed her that much, at least.

"Artemis," he uttered resignedly, forgoing the usual 'hello.' There was no need to pretend as if things were the same as they had always been when they so obviously were not. Knowing this, he didn't even try to pretend.

He wanted her to be angry. He expected her to yell and tell him off and say it was his fault and that she never wanted to see him again. He would have been fine with that. He would have welcomed that.

What he got instead was so much worse.

"Dick," he heard, "Oh, God. Help me. _Please_." Her voice quavered uncontrollably, and he knew she was fighting back tears. She sounded so defeated – an image he had always had a hard time placing to the strong kickass girl he knew.

It wasn't so hard to imagine now.

"Are you okay?" he asked pointlessly, unable to think of anything else to say. He mentally kicked himself as soon as the words left his mouth, wishing he could take them back. The answer was obvious – he didn't need her to confirm what he already knew.

"No," she said, her voice breaking on the word. "No, Dick, I'm not. I'm not okay. _I'm not okay._"

"Where are you?" Upon hearing the vulnerability in her words, he had been struck by an overprotective feeling toward his best girlfriend. She was in a dangerous place now – they both were – and he'd be damned if he lost her too.

"A-at the apartment," she told him, her voice catching. "In California."

"Stay there," he told her, the commander in him showing itself for the first time since the Incident, "I'm coming."

"No," she repudiated, stopping him in his purposeful stride toward the door. "I-I can't stay here." She confessed as her voice grew quiet. "I just …"

She didn't need to finish her sentence when what she meant didn't need saying. "You know you're welcome here anytime," Dick told her gently. It was his way of asking to see her, of begging her to just be there for him, as he was surely there for her. It was his way of pleading her to let them figure this out together, as they had so many other things over the years.

As much as he wanted to be alone, he wanted someone there with him. He wanted _her_ there with him.

There was a long pause in which Dick wondered whether she would take his offer or not. He was starting to get nervous when he finally heard her voice over the line once more.

"Okay," she replied in a whisper, "okay."

* * *

**Blüdhaven  
**

The day had dawned bright in Blüdhaven, a fact Dick had missed as he kept himself sequestered in his darkened apartment over the long night and afternoon. The young man winced as he stepped outside the building, unprepared for the blinding afternoon sunlight. It shouldn't be sunny, he thought to himself. It doesn't feel sunny. Rain and storm clouds and overcast skies would have been so much more appropriate. It almost felt as if the world was mocking him for his loss.

_Their_ loss, he corrected himself as a flash of unnatural light caught his eye. After hanging up on Artemis, he had taken it upon himself to make the trek to the nearest zeta tube. He hadn't bothered changing out of his sweats and tank – it wasn't like anyone was going to care. He had, however, grabbed one of his Escrima sticks in the case of trouble. Blüdhaven _was_ known for its crime rates, after all.

He didn't want Artemis getting mugged on the way from the tube to his apartment. Any other time, the concern wouldn't have even crossed his mind. He _knew_ she could kick the ass of any unfortunate soul attempting to mug her. She had even kicked _his_ ass once or twice before, and that was no small feat in and of itself. Still, his newfound drive to protect her had him standing in an abandoned alley a few yards away from the object designated to be the Blüdhaven zeta station.

Upon seeing her, he was glad he had decided to meet her there. Her semi-damp hair hung down over her shoulders, free of its usual constraining ponytail. Her grey eyes were red-rimmed and downcast – it was evident she had ceased crying only a few minutes beforehand, and even then it looked like she could burst into tears at any given moment. She had a duffel bag slung over her shoulder with what he assumed to be clothing and possessions she had gathered at the last minute. Her usually strong-and-haughty posture was instead slouched and curled inward, making her appear a lot smaller than she normally did.

She didn't look like the predator everyone had come to associate her with. She looked like a target.

Dick cleared his throat as she drew nearer to him without looking up. She jumped into a defensive stance, obviously startled. Grief may have decreased her awareness, but her reflexes were just as sharp as ever. When she saw who it was that was standing there, she relaxed and smiled as best she could.

"Dick," she said, her voice relieved. "You startled me."

"Sorry," he returned, drawing her into a tight embrace, "I didn't mean to."

Her reaction was instantaneous, her arms snaking around his middle as she buried her face in his chest. He played with the ends of her hair with one hand, the other keeping her pressed securely against him. There, in a shady alley of downtown Blüdhaven, the two stood locked together. They clung to one another tightly as they both proved that yes, they were there together.

After several minutes, they broke apart reluctantly. Dick kept one arm slung over her shoulder as they walked the short way back to his apartment building, and Artemis walked close enough that their sides were still touching. To their luck they weren't accosted on their way through the streets, though Dick still kept a firm grip on the Escrima stick he'd tucked into the waistband of his trousers. When they reached the door to his apartment, he let her in before following soon thereafter.

He turned on the lights, but they didn't do much to illuminate the area. The shades were drawn, letting minimal amounts of sunlight into the living space. He asked if she wanted him to raise them, but she declined, saying the dimmer light felt more comfortable. It was a sentiment he matched exactly.

Artemis dropped the duffel bag beside the doorway before following Dick further into the apartment. The furnishings hadn't changed much since she'd last visited. The green living chairs and beige-brown everything else was still the same as she had remembered. The Flying Graysons poster still hung on the wall in its place of honor, adding a splash of color to the otherwise monotonous décor. There might have been a few more books on the shelf, she decided as she looked them over.

"Would you like something to drink?" Dick's voice from the kitchenette area drew her wandering attention.

"Uhm … yeah, sure." she acquiesced, taking a seat on one of the wooden stools by the counter. It was weird, being there like that. She had been in her guyfriend's apartment on multiple occasions before, but it was different this time. It was most likely because both parties knew this wasn't just a visit. There was also the large purple elephant in the room that both were avoiding.

The archer looked at her friend, actually _looked_ for the first time since the Incident. It was only then she noticed the dark smudges underneath his striking blue eyes. They themselves were clouded, where they were usually clear as a sunny mid-afternoon sky. That, along with the pallid color of his face, did not paint a pretty picture. She wondered just how long he had been pushing himself to the brink … and how long it had gone unnoticed by the people around him.

She knew better than to mention it, and instead watched as Dick opened his refrigerator. The outside of the appliance was covered in various magnets and sticky notes and other memos, along with the occasional photo or two of the Batfamily and Alfred. Actually, from what she could see, there was more on the _outside_ of the refrigerator than there was _inside_ of it.

An empty refrigerator had been a terrible nightmare come true back in the California apartment she had shared with Wally. She had gone grocery shopping multiple times a week just to keep enough food stocked for her speedster boyfriend …

Thankfully, her thoughts were interrupted before they could go any further.

"So it looks like it's orange juice or … well, orange juice," Dick cringed, running a hand through his hair. "I need to get to the store at some point. Uhm, there's water, too, but I don't really trust this city's water supply …"

He was babbling, Artemis realized. He was adorable when he babbled, though she would never admit it. "Orange juice is fine," she said, cracking a real – albeit small – smile for the first time in hours. "I get it – bachelor pad."

Dick smiled back as he placed the drink in front of her. Picking up his glass from before, he made a face and poured the remaining liquid down the sink before rinsing and refilling it. He motioned for her to follow him to the living room area, and the two sat on the small couch located there.

They sat angled toward each other, but neither of them said a thing. There was so much hanging over them, and they didn't know where to start. Awkwardness was something the two rarely dealt with when they were together, but now was definitely one of those times. They sipped their drinks (Dick decided orange juice tasted a lot better cold than tepid) and watched the other, unsure of what to say.

"I'm sorry," the dark-haired teen said after a long period of silence. "It's my fault. I should have-"

Artemis cut him off. "No," she said as firmly as she could through her suffering, "we're not playing this game. It's not your fault. It's not my fault. Hell, it's not even that kid Jaime's fault. We knew from the beginning things were going to go wrong in some way or another…"

"Artemis-"

The floodgates had been opened. "Don't you see?" the archer asked him before he could say anything, "It doesn't matter! It doesn't matter if it _was_ your fault, or his fault, or … or …" she struggled to come up with another name, but she couldn't think of one to use. "… or anyone else's fault! It doesn't change what happened! It doesn't change the fact that he's … gone …" here her voice hiccupped, "and it won't bring him back! You're only going to make things worse for yourself!"

"Artemis!"

"And no one else … should be hurt," she continued, "Not from this." She ended her impromptu rant in a whisper, and an unrestrained sob made its way through her body. Dick set his half-empty glass down on the floor by his foot and drew her to his side, allowing her to cry into his shoulder.

"I was the one that tore you away from him for months," he said guiltily. His voice too dropped down to a whisper, his eyes focused on the colorless carpet beneath them.

"It was my choice … just as much as yours," Artemis responded through her sobs, her voice muffled by his shirt. "And … if I hadn't gone … could you honestly say that … that we would have won? That we wouldn't … have lost more … people … than we did?" She clutched at her own empty glass as one would grip a lifeline, drawing it close to her chest.

Dick wanted to say yes as he carefully pried the object from her grasp. She loosened her fingers, allowing him to take it and place it next to the one he had already set down. The survivor's guilt in him wanted to say her work undercover _had_ been unnecessary, that everything _was_ his fault … but he knew. She had been needed. As they had drawn closer to doomsday, the inside work had become vital to their cause. They had needed someone else in there to help get information and get out without getting caught … and no one else had known the ways of villainy better than Artemis, who had grown up on the wrong side of the tracks for most of her life.

Artemis took his silence for an answer. A hush fell over the room once more, but it wasn't nearly as awkward as the first time. It was far from comfortable, but with their breathing and the hum of the utilities as the only audible sounds it was quite relaxing. The blonde felt her guyfriend's ribcage rising and falling underneath her with each breath he took, and she matched her intake of air to his.

"That's what I hate the most," she said when she'd evened her breathing enough to speak clearly. "I just can't justify anything else happening that would have saved his life. If he hadn't been rash and impulsive and had that stupid hero complex of his, both Barry and Bart would have died. If Jaime and his scarab had located that generator sooner … would we have even been able to get there in time anyway? There are so many variables, so many things that could have or would have gone wrong, and so many outcomes that would have been so much worse, you know?"

Both Dick and Artemis contemplated her words. It was true – if they looked at it in a truly objective view, they were lucky to have lost only one person in the worldwide crisis when the death toll could have easily been much higher. It was only the fact Wally had been so loved by his friends and his family that made it seem so terrible. They should have been thinking about the lives he saved, not about the life he lost in the process. If it hadn't been for him, the entire planet would have ceased to exist.

So long was the lull in conversation after that, so long was the time lost in contemplation of everything which had happened, that Dick would have believed Artemis had fallen asleep. Only the occasional hitch in her breathing and twitch against his side told him she was still conscious. It felt _right_, he decided in the silence, sitting there on his couch with her. He had grown out of any hopeful romantic notions about her years beforehand, but sometimes his mind still wandered to the _what if_s. It was something he would never pursue – he and Artemis had had a good laugh about it together a year or two before. All the same, he needed her just as much as she needed him – a whole awful god-awful lot.

"Is it really okay for me to stay here?" she asked suddenly, surprising him out of his reverie. "I mean, I can't go back to California – not without him," she paused, "but … I could try to find my own place out here or maybe somewhere near Central if need be. My mom still lives in Gotham, as far as I know …"

Dick drew back, turning to face her for the first time in what seemed like hours. She looked better, he noted. Her eyes weren't nearly as red as they had been. "No," he said resolutely. "It's perfectly okay for you to stay here. I _want_ you to stay. At least until things are somewhat normal again. I … I need someone here, 'Mis. I need _you_ here," he admitted, using the pet name he had adopted for her years ago.

"It's not exactly like you're hard-pressed of finding company," she said wryly as she looked up at him. She shot him a knowing smirk, though her heart leapt at his admission and the use of her nickname. She knew much of his ways with women. To his credit, he did have the decency to flush just a tiny bit at the insinuation from his longtime 'best girlfriend' whom had known him since the awkward years of early teenagerhood.

"I-"

Artemis smiled thinly at her friend as she nudged him in the shoulder. "I'm kidding. If you want me to stay, I'm staying. You don't mind dogs, do you? I left Nelson back in California, but if I'm going to be away for long …"

"I've always been more of a cat person myself," the raven-haired man debated teasingly, attempting to lift the spirits between the both of them, "but Nelson can be an exception."

She resolved to get her little dog later. Curled up against Dick's side, she was highly of the inclination to stay put. It was the most relaxed she had felt since she had returned from the undercover mission with Kaldur. She had woken only a few hours before in California, but found herself drifting off once again. She didn't try to fight it, and it wasn't long before she had lost herself to the darkened bliss that was sleep.

This time, Dick knew she was asleep. He had felt the tension leave her body as she had nodded off. It was only then that he himself relaxed. He didn't want to disturb her when she looked and felt so peaceful, he told himself. Her golden hair spilled down over her shoulders, now completely dry and still free of its usual confines. He stroked it softly as his own breathing slowed.

Everything was beginning to catch up with him at once. His lack of sleep, years of heroing, and hours spent worrying all crashed upon him, creating a bone-numbing sense of weariness. He sighed as he settled back against his friend, her warmth reassuring against his side. Perhaps … perhaps he could get some sleep like this. Yes, sleep sounded good.

"Just stay there," he mumbled as he closed his eyes. He felt her rearrange herself beside him, nestling closer into their newer position. He had thought she was asleep – and perhaps she still very much was – but he almost didn't catch her low response.

"'m not goin' anywhere," was the last thing he heard before he finally allowed himself to drift away.

* * *

_I promise I'll write something happy next. I promise. I even have an idea._

I'm thinking of doing a separate fic that spins off of this chapter, though it won't be written for a while yet. It will be platonic Traught with romantic Spitfire, just to let you know.

_Reviews are appreciated. I spent two weeks on this and now I have no clue what to do with my life. So yeah._


	6. Wishes

**Takes place RIGHT before the episode 'Image'  
**

* * *

This is Canon!Traught, so there isn't going to be any romance between the two, at least not like that. I'm just letting you know ahead of time. I completely support that, I _love_ the Traught pairing, but that isn't this story.

I apologise if I get things wrong. The only familiarity I have with the DC Universe is common pop-culture knowledge and what appeared on Young Justice. And what I've gleaned from my friend.

_**I can try to do AU one-shots if people request them and tell me what to do. I'd like to do some of those every once and a while. Requested AUs can be romantically inclined.**_

_Okay, I'm confused as all get-out. The wiki says the first year of Young Justice is 2010, but if that's true, that means Wally's first day of school was on a _Sunday_, which makes absolutely no sense. However, if one goes by the 2011 calendar instead, you'll find that they're celebrating Thanksgiving on a Friday._

_I am so confused, because in either year dates will be wrong. So I'm sticking with what I already have and am setting it in 2011._

_This one is a lot shorter … and not nearly as depressing. Enjoy!_

* * *

**November 22, 2011**

"… and then you take the derivative of …"

Dick Grayson wasn't really listening to his pre-calculus professor. Why should he? It was first period, and he didn't much need to – he had already read and comprehended both the current chapter and the next one the week before. Class for him, at least math class, was more of a formality than anything. Bruce had refused to convince the school of rendering his math credits unnecessary to graduate, thus forcing him to attend class. His guardian had, however, gotten him moved into an advanced class. Therefore, Dick spent his time in pre-calc with the juniors while he himself was still just a freshman.

The door slamming open from the back of the room drew the class' attention away from the lecture, heads turning as one to stare at the latecomer. Dick didn't turn – he already knew he would find a lithe frame, blonde hair in an austere ponytail, a less-than-sheveled uniform, tanned skin and the storm-angry grey eyes he knew so well if he did so. Instead, he leaned back in his chair and looked at the ceiling for lack of anything better to do.

"What are you looking at?" A harsh, husky voice demanded of the class. Dick grinned up like a madman, imagining the image of acerbic irritation on her face. There was the sound of shifting as the rest of the class turned back around, cowed by the ferocity of the girl's query. The sharp clacking of shoes sounded as the newcomer marched up to the front to thrust her pass at the professor, then again as she made her way to her seat.

Just as he was beginning to wonder just how many dots were on the ceiling tiles, Dick felt the girl drop herself into the seat beside him. He felt her gaze upon him, but looked down only when she huffed in annoyance. When he did, she had her arms crossed and her head down on the table before them, her blonde ponytail falling down the side of her face furthest from him to pool on the hard surface.

"Where were you?" he whispered as the professor began his lecture once more. He knew where she had been, of course, but he had to keep up pretenses. Pretenses he didn't much want to keep, but had promised he would.

"I overslept," she snapped as she turned her head just enough that she could glare up at him with one grey eye, "why do you care?"

"Rough night?" he asked as if he didn't hear the second part of her response. He did care – he actually cared more than he would ever admit. Not that she needed to know, of course.

"You don't even know the half of it," she muttered sullenly.

Dick, also sometimes known as Robin, nearly laughed at her statement. "I might know more than you think," he mumbled. If only she knew …

Artemis glanced sharply at him, startled by his statement. He could see the gears ticking inside her head, trying to piece together scattered pieces of something she knew she should have known. She searched his eyes for a few seconds before ultimately failing in her task, giving up on what seemed to be a pointless endeavor.

The young hero couldn't help but sigh slightly as his friend turned to the lesson. He might have been friends with Artemis as Robin, but Dick Grayson was a stranger. At the moment, he was just that odd kid that took a picture of her the first day of school and sat next to her in first period. Yeah, they talked in school … but they weren't _friends_.

They shared two other classes together besides pre-calculus – English 10 and Advanced French. In each class, Dick had placed himself strategically close to his unwitting friend. Close enough to be paired with often for group projects, but not close enough that she would think he was stalking her. She already thought he was weird for having completed the entire English 9 curriculum over the summer 'because he was bored.'

But hey, it wasn't like he could spend much time doing other teenagery stuff like others could. The paparazzi ate that up; just looking for the one wrong step they could blow out of proportion. He would chill with Wally with the dark shades on his face, but that was about it. He preferred to spend his time in Wayne Manor, using the opportunity to train as Robin and get further ahead in his schoolwork as Dick.

It had paid off too, as he was now in his sophomore friend's English class.

In Advanced French, the two often worked together due to the fact they were both practically fluent much to their professor's delight and dismay. Delight because they could speak the language … dismay because there was nothing he could teach them. They had become the two kids that sat in the back and made snarky comments to each other in French, driving the professor crazy. It had been Dick's idea at first, but Artemis had taken it up with great relish.

Really, it would have been perfect. The two just complimented each other in a way one couldn't quite describe. They didn't seem to be friends but they were more than amiable to one another, often teaming up against the professors and older students when the situation arose. Artemis felt comfortable around the boy, though she had no clue why. In all reality, she shouldn't have. After all, she didn't know him, despite how much she felt she did.

And Dick, well … in the months since he had met her, his cru- strong admiration of his archer friend had not died down any. It was always just there. He had long since accepted it would never go anywhere – it was painfully obvious to anyone but the subjects in question that Artemis and Wally were going to end up together. Truth be told, Dick wanted that to happen. He honestly could not see a better match, not even with himself. Of course, that didn't stop him from harassing his best friends about it whenever the opportunity arose.

He glanced over to where the girl in question was trying her hardest to focus on logarithms and exponents. Her pencil scribbled furiously over her notebook, scrawling down notes in her uncharacteristic loopy handwriting. One would expect her letters to be sharp and spiky, but that wasn't the case. She flipped her hair back up over her shoulder when it fell beside her face, and continued to write.

Dick had promised his guardian-slash-mentor that he wouldn't tell Artemis who he was. It was the one condition he'd had to agree to in order for her to attend Gotham Academy. At the time, it had seemed like a simple thing. He had been hiding his identity from everyone for four years – this shouldn't have been any different. He simply had to stay away from her … right?

Well, that plan had been botched since the moment she stepped foot on campus. There had been the photo incident, then he had sat next to her in pre-calc under the excuse she was the one closest to his age, then he was in her English 10 class, and they sat together in Advanced French. She would occasionally sit with him and Barbara at lunch as well. It became harder and harder to censor himself around her.

Especially since he didn't even want to. She was the only person outside the Manor that held ties to both his civilian and vigilante lives. She knew both his identities, though she hadn't put them together as one person yet. He could liken her to the missing link, the bridge that spanned the gap between his day job and his night life. She was a constant – until now, his only constants had been Bruce and Alfred. Wally knew both his identities, but he wasn't always _there_ like she was.

She even lived in Gotham. They were the only two on the team that lived even remotely close to one another. Really, he could think of no reason why he shouldn't tell her other than the fact Bruce ordered him not to.

Well, and the fact she was the daughter of two supervillains and the sister of another.

Truth was, he wanted her to find out. He wanted her to look at Dick Grayson one day and have her face light up in realization before yelling at him for not telling her. He wanted them to hang out at school as close friends. He wanted to be able to discuss missions with her in hushed tones or in scrawled messages or in impeccable French. He wanted to be able to ask her about the math homework while they were hanging out at the Cave, or share stories about whatever funny thing they had done in French class that day.

He wanted a friend that wasn't conditional upon which 'him' he was at the time.

Bruce had to know that he hadn't been as careful about his identity around her as he should have been. He had been dropping little hints about who he was for months, since it had been established she would be attending Gotham Academy.

"_Bummer. Mine doesn't start for another week."  
"No kidding? Mine too."_

"_We'll laugh about this someday."_

"_Hey, Artemis, how's the new _school year_ treating you? Meet anyone interesting?"_

Not to mention he had dropped several back-formations in front of her, much to her consternation. She had nearly figured it out, he knew it. She just needed a little more push, and she would have it. The problem was he couldn't give her that little push without making it obvious to Bruce that he had blatantly thrown his primary objective.

It was probably already quite obvious, but neither Bruce nor Batman had said anything about it yet. Dick didn't know what to think of that, so he had taken it at face value for once. As long as nothing was said, he would go on doing what he was doing. It would either land him in trouble or benefit him greatly in the end – he didn't know which it would be, but he was seriously hoping for the latter.

He knew Artemis could keep a secret. After all, she was keeping three that were almost as big as his was. Perhaps even bigger, because if hers were discovered she could easily lose the trust of everyone else on the team. Dick liked to think the rest of the team wouldn't be so shallow as to turn against her for that, but one could never know how other people would react. It was a pretty big deception. Not only was she hiding her true family, she was lying about Oliver being her uncle, and as far as the rest of the team knew, she lived in Star City and not Gotham.

She was the one he could relate to the closest on the team, and she didn't even know it.

A sharp nudge to his ribs brought him out of his thoughts and into the present. His gaze snapped to the girl beside him, who was staring at him with an odd look in her eyes.

"Are you okay? You've been completely out of it all class," she said.

With a shock, Dick realized that first period was almost over. Had he really been that lost in thought? "I'm fine," he told her, "just bored. I learned all this material last week."

Artemis rolled her eyes as the bell rang. "Come on, Freshie," she said, gathering her things. "Go ooze your genius in second period."

Dick couldn't help but think that if she knew his identity, she would have teased him as 'Boy Genius' instead of just 'Freshie.' It would have been their inside joke. It wasn't to be, however, and so he only sighed in resignation.

"You just wish you were this smart," _Goddess_, he finally returned, keeping the last bit to himself. He would have said it if she were as comfortable with him as she was with Robin, but she wasn't. He didn't want to freak her out too much, so he kept his mouth shut.

They waited for the older students to exit before finally filing out themselves. Seniority was a big deal at Gotham Academy. Underclassmen just _didn't_ walk ahead of upperclassmen. It was something Dick knew pissed Artemis off greatly, but she usually managed to keep her anger to herself until she was in the training room at the Cave later that afternoon. He had found her in there many a day, attacking the dummies with gusto while cursing their classmates' names. He had found it extremely difficult to keep from bursting into laughter.

"See you in French, 'Mis!" He said, using his nickname for her. That would throw her off-kilter for a few seconds, for sure. "_Nous parlerons plus tard. __À bientôt__!_"

"Oui," Artemis replied, but he had already gone, pulling Robin's Disappearing Act. Just another in a long string of clues he had left her. From down the hall, he saw her perplexed face trying to figure something out, though she didn't quite know what.

While he did just want to tell her who he was, this game he was playing with her was all too fun. With a grin, he wandered off to the American Studies 9 class he shared with Barbara.

* * *

**French translation: "We will talk later. See you soon!"**

* * *

_I didn't edit this one nearly as much as I did the other one. So if there are mistakes, I am sorry. I'm thinking I'll try to do a longerish one every five chapters or so. So yeah._

_Reviews are still appreciated. They all make me so happy._


	7. Bored

**Takes place during the timeframe of the episode** **Terrors**

This is Canon!Traught, so there isn't going to be any romance between the two, at least not like that. I'm just letting you know ahead of time. I completely support that, I _love_ the Traught pairing, but that isn't this story.

I apologise if I get things wrong. The only familiarity I have with the DC Universe is common pop-culture knowledge and what appeared on Young Justice. And what I've gleaned from my friend.

_**I can try to do AU one-shots if people request them and tell me what to do. I'd like to do some of those every once and a while. Requested AUs can be romantically inclined.**_

Aand, here's the happier oneshot I promised.

**Mount Justice  
September 16, 2011**

Artemis yawned. She didn't know why she had chosen to stay at the Cave after Connor and M'gann had been given their mission – after all, it wasn't like the rest of them were going to be assigned anything to do. It would have made more sense for her to go back home to spend time with her mother, whom she saw little of anymore what with school and her 'extracurricular' activities. Yet she didn't, instead choosing to spend her afternoon and evening with the two most irritating guys she knew.

Namely, the Boy Blunder and Kid Idiot.

Okay, so they weren't _that_ bad. She actually really enjoyed hanging out with Robin, despite the fact he could be quite the little troll from time to time. As the two normal humans on the team, they trained the most with each other. They were also the two most well-versed in various different types of martial arts, which they enjoyed teaching one another during said training sessions. Robin had quickly become her best friend on the team … and he was the one she felt the least guilty about hiding the truth from, knowing he too had his secrets.

As for Wally West … uhrg. It had been so simple before. She hated him, he hated her, and it was all well and good. She could deal with hatred and animosity – she had been doing so for her entire life. After their mission in the Bialyan desert, however, things had gotten … weird. That was really the best way she could describe it. She would look at him, and her first instinct wouldn't be to make some caustic remark. She would make one anyway, of course, but she had to think a moment before she did so. She knew it was much the same way on his end as well, and that scared her.

Robin didn't help matters much either with his insinuations that there was something … more … between her and the speedster than there actually was. She had learned to disregard his statements, and both she and Wally often continued on as if he never said anything in the first place. It was easier that way.

In any case, she had spent the past few hours avoiding the boys, opting instead to practice her archery at the Cave's indoor range. If one looked at her results, they would wonder why she needed practice at all – she hit the bulls-eye on nearly every shot. Artemis, however, was unhappy with her results. A half-inch to the right or a half-centimeter to the left could mean the difference between life and death out in the field. She wasn't about to bet her friends' lives on half an increment, so thus she forced herself into the training she told herself she needed.

Shooting arrow after arrow got repetitive after a while, however, even to her. She switched it up often, using first her regular arrows before switching to the arrows weighted like her explosives, then using false foam arrows before picking up her grappling and net arrows. Still, even with the variety, there was only so much monotony she could take before it was too much. Putting her bow away, she decided it was time to seek out the others.

She found them in the Cave's 'living room' in front of the television. Upon her approach, she counted no less than three bottles of soda in the vicinity, along with several snack bags and a large bowl of popcorn cradled in Wally's arm. Both boys were seated on the green couch, and from the back she could see that Wally was slouched down quite a bit. How? Simple – Robin looked taller, which she knew to be false.

"Well," she commented as she walked up behind them, "this looks … exciting."

Robin turned and grinned widely at her over the back of the sofa. "We were wondering when you were going to show up," he told her.

"And by 'we' he means him," Wally was quick to interject, "I really couldn't care less."

Artemis couldn't help but raise her eyebrows. "Wow. I'm glad you cleared that up. I was starting to think I actually meant something to you," she quipped.

"Keep dreaming," was the flippant response from the red-haired speedster.

"Of you? Never," she retorted.

Robin promptly raised an eyebrow of his own at her and allowed a knowing smirk to settle upon his face. It effectively created an expression that clearly said, 'you aren't fooling me about anything.' Artemis sneered back at him, childishly sticking out her tongue in the process.

She drew it back in quickly just in case Wally decided to turn around. She refused to give him anything else to use against her. Robin laughed softly before turning back to the television. Curious, Artemis walked closer to see what the boys were watching.

It looked like sports, which didn't surprise her any. But …

"Is that-" she asked, seeing what looked to be one of the new famous pop stars.

Robin nodded. "Yyep. It's amazing what's on TV nowadays, isn't it?"

Drawing even closer, Artemis rested her elbows on the back of the couch right behind where Robin sat. She too watched in helpless fascination as the pop star she recognized body-checked a new up-and-coming movie star. Meanwhile, the lead singer from some popular boy band struggled to stay upright on his pair of skates.

"People actually watch this crap?" she couldn't help but ask, even as her eyes stayed trained on the screen.

"I dunno, ask Wally. He was watching it when I came in," Robin replied absentmindedly.

"Don't look at me!" the other boy protested from where he was slouched, "It's the first thing that came up when I turned the television on!"

"Suure," Artemis couldn't help but jab. "We'll go with that."

"_Coming up next: more Celebrity Hockey!" _the TV announced, and with that it cut to commercial break. Artemis sighed, and Wally put another handful of popcorn in his mouth.

It wasn't but a few seconds later that the archer reached over and snagged a handful of popcorn for herself, much to the redhead's dismay. He protested loudly, but Artemis quickly shut him down. She ate the popcorn in silence, reveling in the fact she had managed to steal food from the speedster and get away with it.

Robin noticed this as well. Grinning deviously, he leaned back in the couch until he was looking up at his archer friend's face. Artemis raised an eyebrow as he did so, sending him a disapproving look. When he opened his mouth to say something, she quickly dropped a piece of popcorn inside, preventing him from voicing whatever remark he had planned. He glared at her instead, and she smiled as sweetly as she could back at him.

"Don't do that again," he told her as soon as he had swallowed the popcorn, "It looks downright unnatural on you."

"Oh, I think that's plenty reason to do it again," she countered, still smiling.

"If you two are quite finished," Wally said irritably from where he was sitting, "I'd like to watch this program we have all decided is crap."

It was a weak excuse, but she wasn't going to think about what that might imply.

"Scoot," Artemis demanded of Robin as she walked around from the back of the sofa. When he stubbornly refused to move, she shoved him aside so that she could sit on the end beside him. The action resulted in a loud "hey!" from Wally, whom Robin had fallen onto from the force of her shove.

So what if there had been more of an open space on the other side of Wally? She certainly didn't want to be stuck sitting next to _him_ for what would probably be the next few hours.

Nope, she was perfectly happy where she was, seated next to Robin. She'd never admit it, but she enjoyed hanging out with whom she considered to be 'her boys.' Yes, Wally was included within that category as well, despite how much she said she hated his guts.

She beamed at Robin, who grinned back once he righted himself. Together, the three of them watched mindless television late into the night, eventually falling asleep with the device still turned on.

Batman found them the next morning, much to their chagrin.

_Short, yes, but all the same. I hope you enjoyed it! As always, reviews are appreciated._


	8. Heat

**Takes place about a month before I've decided Artemis discovers who Dick is.**

* * *

This is Canon!Traught, so there isn't going to be any romance between the two, at least not like that. I'm just letting you know ahead of time. I completely support that, I _love_ the Traught pairing, but that isn't this story.

I apologise if I get things wrong. The only familiarity I have with the DC Universe is common pop-culture knowledge and what appeared on Young Justice. And what I've gleaned from my friend.

_**I can try to do AU one-shots if people request them and tell me what to do. I'd like to do some of those every once and a while. Requested AUs can be romantically inclined.**_

Screw it. I almost changed every date to be based on 2010, but I can't get over the fact that that would mean Wally's first day of school was a Sunday. I can work it off 2011. Besides, then year 5 is 2016, which fits perfectly with the whole Earth-16 thing.

I didn't really check this before I posted. I am sorry. I really wanted to get something up, because I haven't posted in about a month. Forgive me?

This was going to be the 'Artemis sees Dick on the news' prompt I got, but it ended up being this. I will do that prompt, promise :)

* * *

**Gotham City  
May 16, 2012**

It was an abnormally hot day for Gotham in the middle of May, and while Gotham Academy had been nicely air-conditioned, the same could not be said for Artemis' small apartment. When the young hero stepped inside that afternoon after returning from school, she could've sworn it was hotter and muggier inside than it had been out.

Artemis dropped her schoolbag by the door when she entered, calling out to her mother as she did so. An answering yell sounded from the bedroom, and the archer's muscles relaxed from the state of tension they had found themselves in. She sighed in relief as she made her way to the kitchen area – the girl was always worried that one day she would not hear the answering call. With her mother in the condition she was in, and the fact they lived in one of the shadier parts of Gotham, Artemis couldn't help but think the worst every day.

Humming the tune to one of the latest obnoxious pop songs, she opened the refrigerator door. She stared blankly inside for a few moments as she relished the wash of chilly air against her skin, and then grabbed an apple from one of the shelves. She bit into it and closed the door, plunging herself once again into ninety degree heat.

Walking back out into the main living area, Artemis snatched her bag up off the floor and turned down the short hallway to her bedroom. She paused outside her mother's room and listened in for a second or two to make sure things were all right. Satisfied that everything was okay, she walked the few extra feet to her own room.

Once inside, she kicked the door shut and tossed her books and schoolwork onto her bed. As it usually did, her gaze was drawn to the empty bed situated against the opposite wall before she forced herself to look away. Fanning herself with the hand that wasn't holding the apple, Artemis crossed the room to the single window that looked out over the back alleyways of Gotham. As she did every afternoon, she surveyed the alley closely. One could never be too careful in the Narrows – it was a lesson she had learned at a very early age.

Shoving the apple between her teeth, the teen opened the window. It was an easy feat, the window was worn after repeated openings and closings since her hero career had started. Alas, her hopes that opening the window would cool the room a bit were soon dashed as she was hit in the face by a wall of hot, humid, and smoggy air. She quickly slammed the window back shut and turned away. She dealt with fiery supervillains on a regular basis … she could handle ninety degree weather.

She did, however, need to get out of the stuffy school uniform before she passed out. Grabbing a sports bra and a pair of leggings from her dresser, it wasn't long before she was much more comfortable. She pulled the hair tie from her austere ponytail, allowing her hair to fall about her shoulders before she put it up again in a loose bun. The crumpled uniform lay on a floor in a heap – she would wash and iron it later, after the obnoxious heat subsided a bit.

Artemis glared at the schoolbag lying on her bed. She had to do her homework, yes … but she didn't want to. Pre-calc would not be fun in this weather. She had a hard enough time concentrating on it in the air-conditioned confines of the classroom – it would be nigh on impossible here. Then there was also French and English, and also a bit of World History homework to do as well.

Pulling the books and papers from her bag, she snatched up a pencil and plunked herself down on her bed. Well, she thought as she leaned over to turn on the little bedside fan her mother must have fished out for her, I'd better get started.

About an hour later, she had nearly finished her World History work. Deciding she had gotten it to a point where she could finish it in one of her earlier periods the next day, she closed her textbook with a final _thump_ and tossed it aside. She yawned, fed up with homework and heat. Hoping for a distraction, she fished her cell phone out of her schoolbag and pressed one of the buttons to wake it up.

_**5 new messages**_

Two were from Wally. Artemis smiled at the little messages her boyfriend had sent her while she was in school. _Her boyfriend_. It had been months, and she was still not used to it. It was beautiful, and fantastic, and elating, and it still made her giddy inside whenever she thought about it. Things had been a bit rough for the first few weeks, but they had fallen into a rhythm since then – a rhythm she was willing to dance to for the rest of her life.

She didn't text him back – she knew that as soon as she did, she wouldn't get any more work done. It unsettled her that he took her concentration so entirely, but she couldn't bring herself to care. That fact scared her more than anything else … but she would figure things out later. Things were so good between them at the moment, and she didn't want to do anything to screw that up.

The other three messages were, not too surprisingly, from Dick Grayson. After all, there were only three people that ever actually texted her – Wally, Dick, and Robin. She was sort of friends with Barbara Gordon, but that was more by association with Dick, so they didn't text all that often.

Artemis raised an eyebrow as she saw that the messages had all been sent within the past half hour. Clicking through them, she rolled her eyes at her friend.

'_**Mis, I'm bored.**_

_**Artemis?**_

_**Arrr-temiss. I'm bored. Please pick up your phone.**_

The heir to the Wayne fortune almost always used perfect grammar in his texts, the complete opposite of Wally, who was a fan of abbreviating words and phrases. Sometimes it was difficult bouncing back and forth from one to the other. Casting a shrewd glance at her schoolwork, Artemis moved to text her needy friend back.

**im sorry. what do you want me to do?**

She set the phone beside her and picked up her English homework. She was working on vocab exercises when the device buzzed again.

_**Come over?**_

Artemis stared at his response for a bit. She had been to his house quite a few times before, but it never got any easier to comprehend. What did the heir to a billionaire see in the poor girl from the Narrows? She wasn't complaining, by any means, but she still found it odd.

**i have homework.**

_**So do I. We could do it together.**_

She was about to reply something else again when she was interrupted by a second text from him.

_**I have AC.**_

Once again, the archer was left staring at her phone. How did he know? Yes, Dick had been to her place a couple times, but never when it was too hot. For all he should've been able to tell, they could've just not turned it on. It was times like this that Artemis suspected Dick knew more than he should … she just hadn't figured out why yet.

Still, she couldn't turn the prospect of reprieve from the stifling heat.

**fine. give me a bit.**

_**Yay!**_

As she stood, unsticking her legs from her bedcovers, she once again rolled her eyes at how childish her friend could be. She still didn't know when she had become friends with him. At the beginning of the year, he had been the annoying little twerp she got stuck with in three of her classes. When that changed, she had no clue.

She shoved her books back into her schoolbag and slung it over her shoulder. She was about to step out of her bedroom when she realized she was still only clad in a sports bra and leggings. Dropping the bag, she snatched up a tank top and slid it on. She was used to showing her stomach around her team, but Dick was an entirely different story.

With that, she stepped out of her room and made her way down the short hall.

"Mom," she called when she was within earshot, "I'm going over to Dick's for a bit. You gonna be all right?"

Her mother replied in the affirmative, only asking that Artemis stop by the store and pick up a gallon of milk while she was out. The teen replied that she would, then continued on to the entranceway.

She eyed her flip-flops wistfully, but knew they were a bad idea when out in a city like Gotham. Who knew what kind of filth was out on the streets at any given time? That included both dirt and people. One could easily catch some sort of disease or something from the dirt, and attempting to run from crooks in flip-flops was a recipe for disaster.

Instead, Artemis slid her feet into her lithe combat boots. They weren't the ones she wore with her hero outfit. These weren't as clunky, but they were still badass enough to handle what the streets of Gotham threw at them. On impulse, she grabbed her flip-flops and slid them into her schoolbag.

About half an hour later, she found herself standing in front of the gates to the Wayne Manor. She had caught the bus for most of the way, but got held up when she stepped in to prevent a mugging in the few hundred yards she had actually needed to walk. Of course, the woman had her purse back and the men were on their way to the Gotham City Police Department. She hadn't been injured – the only signs of her scuffle were the rip in her tank top and the dirt that had found its way onto her arms and face.

Still, there was nothing she could do about it as she buzzed herself into the property using the code Dick had entrusted her with months ago. Her mind was whirling, attempting to think of an alibi as to why she was late and dirty when she spotted Dick running down the long driveway towards her.

The black-haired, blue-eyed boy was clad in a white t-shirt and jean shorts, looking casual in a way she hardly saw him. His hair, however, was still gelled back harshly, looking quite out of place with the rest of him. She had learned not to question the things he did, so she let it be.

Dick, too, was surveying his friend. He didn't miss the ripped tank top and smeared dirt, and struggled to suppress a smile as he put together what had delayed her. Her hair was up in a loose bun, probably redone after whatever crime she had stopped. It was different, seeing her hair tied up in a way that wasn't her usual ponytail, and he couldn't help but think she should have it up that way more often. Her combat boots clashed beautifully with her tank top and leggings, and it was just so _her_.

It wasn't a coincidence that he had invited her over that day. He _knew_ her apartment wasn't air conditioned, and he also knew just how disgustingly hot and muggy that part of Gotham got in the summer. It wasn't even summer yet, but he imagined it was much the same way. He knew that she was used to it – after all, she had lived there for most of her life, but she was his friend now. He was going to help her as much as he could without overstepping the boundaries he knew she had.

"It's too hot out here," he stated as soon as he was close enough to her. "Come inside – it's only a couple of degrees warmer than the arctic."

Artemis grinned back at him, suppressing the pain she had associated with the arctic. He didn't know, he didn't need to know, and besides, that had been months ago. It wasn't so much pain as a little twinge of remembrance. She wasn't to know that Dick also realized what he had said, a moment too late.

They entered the enormous house together, chatting about school and the weather and how much homework their pre-calc teacher had given them that night. Artemis breathed in the chilled air with relief as they stepped inside. Dick grinned foolishly at her actions, prompting her to punch him in the arm. She took off her boots and carried them with her to the sitting room.

The two started on their homework first, hoping to get it out of the way. With Dick's help, Artemis powered through her math homework. They did their English homework together, quizzing each other on the vocab words until they were certain they knew them. Artemis then worked on finishing her essay for World History while helping Dick with his American Studies homework. Not that he really needed it, she knew, but he pretended he did in order to make her feel useful.

They finished in a little over two hours, whereas Artemis hadn't even finished her essay in the hour she had been working back at her house. Alfred had stopped in often, bringing with him cookies and glasses of lemonade for the two teens. Dick thanked him profusely each time, and Artemis watched the dynamic between the two with interest. She'd never had a relationship like that with any adult, and she was quite envious. Not that she'd ever tell him.

"Come on," Dick told her when they'd finished their work. He grabbed her by the hand and dragged her through the mansion, secretly relishing the feel of her skin against his own. She had a boyfriend, yes, and it was his best friend. He honestly couldn't see a better match … but yet he couldn't shake the niggling feelings he'd had for her.

He wished he could … after all, he had something with Barbara, didn't he? It wasn't all that clear, but things had changed between them since December. He felt a little guilty for having feelings toward two girls, but he was never going to have Artemis as anything more than a friend. That made it okay … right?

It was too much to think about.

So he didn't.

Despite having been in the Manor several times, Artemis still got hopelessly lost. If it wasn't for Dick grasping her hand, she would've had no idea where she was going. She still had no idea of where she was going, but luckily Dick did. When he finally stopped, she realized that they were in the kitchens.

He dropped her hand and crossed the room to the giant refrigerator. Artemis watched with interest as he opened one of the doors and grabbed something from inside. When he turned around, he was holding up a large box of Popsicles with a maniacal grin on his face. Why he would have ice pops when it was only May, she didn't know, but she didn't question it. Instead, a grin formed on her face that matched his.

With the yellow box in one hand, he once again grabbed her hand with his free one as he led her back through the maze that was Wayne Manor. They made it back to the sitting room without any mishap, where he let go of her once more. They were walking out to the front of the Manor when they ran into Bruce, who was coming in from a meeting at Wayne Enterprises. Artemis froze internally – she'd always had the feeling that the billionaire didn't like her much. He was always friendly enough, but yet she wasn't comfortable around the man.

"Afternoon, Dick," he greeted his charge, "and Artemis," he added.

"Did the meeting go well?" Artemis heard her friend ask his adoptive father. She merely stood behind him, trying not to call attention to herself as Dick and Bruce exchanged words.

"Have fun," Bruce finally said, eyeing the box Dick still held, "but be careful." He cast a meaningful look at Dick that Artemis couldn't quite comprehend, and then his eyes flicked over to her before he walked past them.

"Don't worry about it," Dick reassured his friend. He knew Bruce still didn't like Artemis so close to them all the time, even though it had been months and she still didn't know. It was nothing personal against his blonde friend, but he had no way of explaining that without giving anything away.

"All right," Artemis consented.

The two made their way out onto the lawns of the property, both of them properly barefoot. Despite what Gotham was like, the grass of the Wayne property was lush and quite safe to walk on without shoes. Artemis dug her toes into the ground – it had been forever since she had walked barefoot on grass.

It was getting to be late in the afternoon, so it had cooled off a little as they lay out on the lawn. They opened the box of Popsicles and placed it between them. They had nothing to worry about for the time being. No missions, no schoolwork … nothing. That, along with the soporific atmosphere, was quite freeing.

They laughed and joked, sticking their tongues out at each other after they'd eaten a blue or a red pop. Artemis reached out and mussed his gelled hair, causing it to stand up in large messy spikes. As she laughed, he pulled out her hair tie in retaliation. When she grabbed for it, he held it out of reach. To her dismay, he was quicker than she was. That and the fact he had grown in in the past months made it nigh on impossible to get it back without pulling some of her hero moves, and he knew she wouldn't do that in front of Dick Grayson.

Between the two of them, they easily polished off three quarters of the box of Popsicles. When the bright colors of sunset began to creep their way across the sky, Artemis reluctantly admitted she should probably be getting back to her apartment before it got too dark. They pushed themselves off the grass, gathered the empty pop wrappers, and made their way back inside.

Artemis fetched her things and put her boots back on. "See you tomorrow," she told Dick after they had walked down to the end of his long driveway.

He grinned back. "You know it," he said.

She remembered the milk on the way home, and stopped in the convenience store closest to her complex. When she got back to her muggy apartment, she once again dropped her bag, announced her arrival and waited for the response. It came, and she smiled to herself as she stored the milk in the fridge.

She then went to her room, collapsed on her bed, and texted Wally late into the night.

* * *

_As always, reviews are appreciated and urge me to write more ^.^_


	9. Birthday

**Takes place a week or two after 'Hints'**

This is Canon!Traught, so there isn't going to be any romance between the two, at least not like that. I'm just letting you know ahead of time. I completely support that, I _love_ the Traught pairing, but that isn't this story.

I apologise if I get things wrong. The only familiarity I have with the DC Universe is common pop-culture knowledge and what appeared on Young Justice. And what I've gleaned from my friend.

_**I can try to do AU one-shots if people request them and tell me what to do. I'd like to do some of those every once and a while. Requested AUs can be romantically inclined.**_

Sorry for the wait again … this isn't for a prompt I've gotten- I promise I will get to those! But … here. I can't say I'm too happy with how I ended it … oh, well. I really wanted to update because I promised I'd be quicker … heh.

**Gotham City  
December 1, 2011**

Dick Grayson paced anxiously, apprehension building in his chest. He told himself he was getting too worked up over such a trivial matter, but he honestly couldn't help himself. He took a deep breath, stilling his feet and casting his gaze over the room before him. There were already so many people at his house – more, he knew, than he had invited – but the one person he wanted there more than anything hadn't shown up yet.

Of course, he knew he couldn't expect her to be there. He hadn't _exactly_ invited her. He had wanted to. God, had he wanted to. He almost had, several times – only to lose the opportunity or remember that they didn't actually know each other. He was making progress with her in class … one can't share three classes and _not_ at least become acquaintances … but still not 'hey, wanna come to my birthday party' comfortable.

Therefore, he was counting upon the fact she would be dragged along by Bette, her only actual friend at Gotham Academy. He had guessed that was what would happen, and he was usually right … but he couldn't be sure.

He was never sure when it came to Artemis Crock.

Artemis stared up at the enormous mansion before her, suddenly losing any nerve she might have had before. When her friend had first told her about the party, she was in no way planning on going. How did she end up here in front of the Wayne manor, freezing her arms off in the chilled December air?

"Bette, why are we even here?" she asked when her friend told her to hurry up, "I barely know this kid, and I'm crashing his _birthday_?"

The pink-clad teen in front of her turned impatiently. This was a conversation they'd had multiple times over the last week, and they'd both practically memorized how it would go.

"He's a freshman, Artemis," Bette sighed. "Knowing him's not the point."

"Then what _is_ the point?"

Bette placed a hand on her shoulder, leaning in close. "Are you kidding? He's the _richest kid_ in Gotham. Aren't you curious?"

Artemis smirked at her friend's words. Bette was one of those girls she would usually scoff at and make fun of, but she was the only friend Artemis had at Gotham Academy. Besides, she wasn't all that bad, and her antics were amusing. It was like having an insight into what normal teenage girls were like, and through that Artemis could live vicariously.

They were interrupted by a soft _"Ahem" _and turned toward the front door to see an elderly man – a _butler_ – standing in the doorway.

"Welcome to the Wayne manor," he stated, his English accent making him sound even more official, "Who may I say is-"

"Bette! Artemis!" A familiar voice cut the butler off, followed soon thereafter by a familiar face. "I'm glad you came!"

Later, Artemis would wonder why it sounded like he had expected her when she hadn't even been invited. She would also wonder why he seemed just as happy to see her as he was to see Bette …

When Alfred opened the door to Bette and Artemis standing outside, Dick's heart leapt. After he called out to them, he suppressed a wince. He had screwed up a little bit there, he realized. He only hoped that Artemis wouldn't pick up on it. Composing himself, he led them into the house.

"The party's in here," he told them, listening to their sounds of amazement. He grinned to himself when he heard Artemis speak.

"Your foster father doesn't do _anything_ halfway, does he?"

"You have no idea," he replied. There was more than a little meaning loaded behind his words, and the blonde girl in question shot him an odd glance. Despite the little lurch in his chest he grinned broadly at her, causing her to roll her eyes and look away.

Truth be told, he didn't know who most of the people who had showed up for his party were. He had invited a few people, but word had gotten out around the school and several others had just shown up. It wasn't like he minded much, after all, that was the sole reason Artemis had come. As long as he wasn't expected to talk with everyone, it was all cool with him.

"Hey, Dick."

An extremely familiar voice interrupted his thoughts, causing his gaze and both his companions' to shoot over to where redheaded young woman stood.

"Oh, hey, Barb. When did you get here?" he asked, surprised. The arrival of his best friend caused him to become conflicted – he should want to hang out with her, but he was enjoying his time with the girls he never really got a chance to talk with.

This night would definitely be … interesting.

The first half an hour or so of the party were just as bad as Artemis expected them to be. She didn't know anybody, she wasn't rich like them … she just felt out-of-place and awkward. She hung by Bette quietly, wondering just when she would get to go home. Her time could be so much better spent – her bow and arrows were waiting for her at her apartment, ready to be cleaned and tuned up.

"Hey," she murmured to Bette as the girl began another conversation with Dick and Barbara about various men's and women's clothing designers, "I think I'm going to head out. I have stuff I need to do at home …" Bette was going to respond, but to Artemis' surprise it was Barbara who said something first.

"Wait! I thought you were gonna be on my team for the foosball tournament," the redhead protested.

Artemis vaguely remembered something to that effect, but had completely forgotten in the dull minutes that had passed since then. She debated about it for a few moments, but when she saw Barbara's hopeful face she gave in.

"All right," she agreed.

As they made their way over to the empty foosball table, Barbara hung back from Dick and Bette to walk next to Artemis. "I can just tell you're fierce," she explained to the blonde, "we're going to cream them."

Artemis just looked at her and smirked. Inside, she was elated that she might finally get to fit in. She usually wasn't much for fitting in and making friends, but she actually _liked_ these people, which was rare for her.

She hoped it would last.

"Oh, get it! Get it!"

"GOALLLLLL!"

Though he and Bette had tried their hardest, Dick knew they would never have beaten the dream team of Artemis and Barbara. As they slapped high fives and congratulated each other, he wondered if it was a bad idea on his part to let them meet.

"Girl, you're on fire!" he heard Artemis tell his friend. He decided that it was, in fact, a good idea … Artemis looked more comfortable around them than she ever had. He was glad she was making more friends. After all that she had been through, she deserved them. And, as a more selfish reason, if she was friends with his friends, then by association she would hang out with him more, too.

"Please," Barbara responded, "I always beat him."

"Always?" Bette asked Dick skeptically.

"She's, like, ridiculously good at everything," he defended himself.

The topic was soon dropped as Alfred entered the room with a stack of pizza boxes. To Dick's surprise, Bruce was standing right behind him.

"_You_ ordered in pizza?" Dick asked the butler disbelievingly as he walked over.

"Don't be absurd, Master Richard," The older man said. "I ordered the _boxes_. I _made_ the pies."

Dick had to smile at that. Typical Alfred. Before he could turn back to his friends, however, he caught his foster father's eye. "I'm kinda surprised you're not in _Dhabar_," he said as he joined Bruce in the shadows.

"I wouldn't miss your birthday," the man said. "Besides …"

Artemis had long since relaxed, and thoughts of going home had all but left her mind. She was actually _glad_ she had let Bette talk her into crashing Dick Grayson's birthday party. Though how they had ended up playing 'spin the bottle,' she wasn't sure. It might have been Bette's idea. It was probably Bette's idea.

Most people had left by that point, so there were only about ten kids sitting in the circle. Artemis, to her embarrassment, had had to ask what 'spin the bottle' was, and how to play. To her surprise, however, Dick hadn't even been shocked that she'd never played it. Instead, he just explained it to her quietly, for which she was grateful.

Bette had ended up in the closet with a couple people already. The boys were always delighted when they landed her. When Artemis ended up with a redheaded, freckled boy, Dick broke into unrestrained guffaws of laughter. When she shot him a glare, he only laughed harder.

She spent the entire time in the closet sitting up against the wall, arms crossed and glaring at the boy that looked scarily similar to one annoying speedster she knew. The teen shifted uncomfortably under her grey-eyed gaze, scampering out of the closet once their time was up.

"She's scary," Artemis heard him mutter as he sat back down. Dick looked amusedly over at her as she sat in her place next to him, smirking as if he knew something she didn't. She just ignored him this time.

"Whoa! Look at that!"

"Now it's getting interesting!"

"It's pointing straight at him!"

Dick stared at the green bottle that was undeniably pointing straight at him. The jeers from the others surrounded him, but he could only stare at the thing in shock.

"C'mon, birthday boy!"

"Yeah, Grayson, she won you fair and square!"

"_Woo hoo!_"

His gaze darted up from the bottle to the girl that sat across from him. He decided that this could either go okay, or it could destroy everything between them. Either way, he couldn't back down from it. He fought bad guys in Gotham almost every night … he could handle a few minutes in a closet with his best friend.

"Okay, okay, calm down!" he said, standing up, "I'm _fourteen_, not nine!" He looked over at his friend once more. "You ready for what comes next?" he asked tentatively, holding out a hand. Barbara grabbed it and stood up, walking with him to the closet.

For quite a few minutes, they just stood there in the dark. Neither of them said anything, though they knew everyone outside expected they were doing more.

"We don't have to _do_ anything …" Dick said finally. When Barbara didn't say anything, he prodded, "Barbara …?"

Suddenly, her lips were on his. He panicked initially – he had not been expecting that at all. He hadn't even known his best friend had felt that way … it wasn't long before he relaxed into the kiss and closed his eyes.

When she pulled away, he was left speechless. "Wow. Just. Wow," he said. "And … _uh_ … why?" he asked unintelligently.

"_Dick_ … " Barbara said, biting her lip, "Why do you think?"

Dick mulled things over for the rest of the night. He supposed perhaps this was a good thing. If he developed a crush on Barbara, who reciprocated, perhaps his one on Artemis would subside. At the same time, it seemed to be too much to hope for – he didn't know if he could ever _stop_ liking his blonde-haired archer friend …

He would make a decision later. Much … later.


End file.
